Until the World Ends
by Harmony Delaceur
Summary: It's WWII, and Feliciano Vargas has been living in Berlin with his grandfather and his two brothers. Then the war starts, and everything Feliciano has ever known is changed forever.
1. Chapter 1

Feliciano Vargas stood, waiting, under the shade of a large, leafy tree at the entrance of a rather large school. The seventeen year old was not dressed in the prestigious academy's uniform, but in shorts, a white collared shirt, and black shoes that were more then a little scuffed up. He leaned against the tree, honey eyes trained on the gate to the school.

"Oh, Feliciano!" a call came, and a boy came from the gates. The newcomer had red hair just like Feliciano, and amber eyes just a few shades darker then Feliciano's honey ones. This boy was in the uniform for the school, long black pants, black shoes, white long sleeved collared shirt, black tie, tan vest.

"Good afternoon, Seraphino!" Feliciano called cheerfully, waving energetically as his little brother approached.

"Why are you here, Feli?" Fifteen year old Seraphino asked, using his elder brother's nickname. "Shouldn't you be at home resting or something?" the younger boy asked.

"I'm okay, Seraphino." Feliciano said, smiling. "I almost came to school today, but then when I was about to leave my heart started to hurt and Nonno told me I had to stay home today but I've been better ever since then so maybe I can come tomorrow!" Feliciano said that all in one breath, leaving Seraphino with a familiar look of being stunned.

"Feliciano, what are you doing here?" the deep voice made Feliciano grin like crazy and hop up and down.

Ludwig Beilschmidt, Feliciano's longtime friend approached them, also clad in the academy's uniform, a concerned look furrowing his brow as he approached the two siblings.

Feliciano had met Ludwig under very bizarre and unlikely circumstances. Twelve years ago, when Feliciano had been five and Ludwig had been 6, both had ended up sharing a room in the hospital.

It had been eight years since the end of the Great War, back when Feliciano's family still lived in Italy, and Feliciano had slipped away from his older brother, Lovino, who had been seven and supposed to be watching Feliciano while their mother was asleep. The curious redhead had run into the woods, searching for an adventure, when he had happened upon an area where some deer were grazing. Feliciano had been awed into silence, and the deer took no notice of the little Italian in their midst. The entranced little boy moved closer to the buck of the group, when he had been shot. The hunter had never seen the little boy so close to his target.

Feliciano had been shot through the heart, and the bullet had fragmented in his heart and left lung. There was no way the little five year old should have been able to survive such a terrible accident. However, despite the odds, Feliciano survived an operation to dig out the bullet fragments from his chest, and woke up after a few weeks in terrible pain, sharing a room with a little blond boy who had broken his arm. Feliciano could not speak for several days from the pain, but the little boy, who introduced himself as Ludwig Beilschmidt, spoke to him constantly, keeping him occupied, even climbing in bed with him one night when Feliciano had nightmares.

When Feliciano could talk again, he thanked the little German boy for keeping him company. Now he knew almost everything about Ludwig, even met his brother when the strangely white haired boy had come with his grandfather to visit, but Ludwig knew almost nothing about his Italian roommate. As Feliciano had begun to recover, he would tell Ludwig, in halting, pained segments, about his own life. About how his father had left them after his little bother had been born, how his older brother was always getting in to trouble for his bad language, how he couldn't wait to leave the German hospital and go back home to Italy, everything.

When his family had finally had the time to make the trip to visit Feliciano in the hospital, little three year old Seraphino looked confused to why his brother was in the hospital. Feliciano himself didn't even understand really what was wrong. He didn't understand words like "sutures" or "surgery" or "restricted lifestyle". He only understood two things about his condition. One was that it hurt a lot, and the other was the explanation he gave his brother.

"My heart is broken."

After he was released, his family moved to Berlin to be closer to the hospital, and Feliciano's brothers went to the same school as Ludwig. So the two were friends.

Feliciano smiled at the approaching, now seventeen year old German. His birthday was coming up soon. "I'm here to see my fratello and my best friend." The Italian said, his native language rolling easily off his tongue.

"Well, let's get you home before the storm hits." Ludwig said, glancing up at the sky, which was dark grey with storm clouds. The stern looking German narrowed his eyes accusingly at Feliciano. "I sure hope that you told Lovino or Roma that you were coming to meet us."

Feliciano felt a hot flash of guilt course through his face, leaving a telltale red stain on his cheeks. Of course he had forgotten to tell his older brother. Every other day, Feliciano would go out and forget to tell someone. "I-I… I may or may not have forgotten." He stammered nervously, fidgeting his hands.

"Uh-oh!" Seraphino said with a wicked grin. "Someone's going to get it, huh?" the first year student and youngest member of the Vargas household said.

Feliciano started nervously back towards his home, hoping to return before Lovino noticed he was missing and chewed him out. Seraphino and Ludwig kept pace beside him easily. The anxious Italian didn't speak a word until they reached their destination, slipping through the front door.

"Feliciano Vargas!" an angry voice snapped, and Feliciano paled visibly, spinning around to meet the angry green eyes of his brother Lovino. The nineteen year old brother had graduated the year before, and kept a garden for the Vargas household to get fresh vegetables from. Now, the man with red hair a good few shades darker then Seraphino's looked completely angered.

"H-Hi fratello." Feliciano said, his voice getting a bit higher as he quaked before his brother's baleful gaze.

"Do you want to tell me where you were, Feli?" The Italian's voice was dangerously sweet. "Because I looked for you, and I couldn't find you. Of course that means you must have left the house without telling me… But you would NEVER do that, isn't that right?"

Feliciano's heart beat a little faster in nervousness. "I-I'm sorry, fratello! I didn't want to you wake you up from your siesta because you're always so tired from taking care of me and you needed to sleep and I wanted to see Sera and Luddy after they got off of school and my heart feels okay it really does so please don't yell at me or hit me or anything!"

Lovino seemed to deflate a bit. Feliciano had headed him off before he really built up steam. If that had happened, Feliciano knew his big brother could go on for hours, yelling and screaming and teaching him new curse words in both English and Italian, and even the few swears he knew in German. Lovino hated living in Germany, but had at least taken it upon himself to learn cusses in the language. Now he had lost the chance to use them on his brother.

On the other hand, Feliciano could feel that his skin was pale, and his heart beat frantically in his chest as Lovino's angry expression faded a bit to one of concern as Feliciano grabbed onto Ludwig's arm, struggling to catch his breath and slow his erratic heartbeat.

"Here, sit down, Feli." Seraphino said. Lovino looked a bit concerned and pulled forward a chair and all-but shoved his younger brother into it.

Feliciano sat carefully and pulled his arm around his chest until he managed to get his frantic heart and his breathing under control. He gave the three worried faces gathered around him a tired smile. "I'm sorry, I panicked and I forgot that it can make my heart beat too fast and I'm sorry I made you all worry." He said.

"Shut up, Feli." Lovino sniffed, backing off as soon as he saw his brother was okay. "Just make sure you have yourself under control before Nonno gets back, got it?" The dark red head said, stalking from the room as Feliciano slowly stood up, grabbing Seraphino's arm to support himself for a moment.

"I'm home from the market!" a deep voice boomed, laced with a heavy Italian accent as Nonno Roma came through the door. "Oh, welcome Ludwig, it's been a while, hasn't it?" the tall man who greatly resembled Lovino (no matter what the latter said), but with Seraphino's amber eyes, strode purposefully into the room with a basket tucked neatly under one arm.

"Actually, you just saw me the day before yesterday, sir." Ludwig murmured. He was about the same height as Nonno Roma and a little broader in the shoulders. Nonno Roma gave a hearty laugh as he sat the basket on the table, and then went to ruffle his two grandsons' hair.

"I suppose you're right, Ludwig!" Nonno Roma said cheerfully. "Now where is my oldest grandson? Lovi!" the cheerful voice of Nonno Roma echoed throughout the house, and was followed immediately by a huff from the kitchen. "Found him!" Nonno Roma exclaimed, heading to the kitchen to harass his oldest grandson.

"Gah! Leave me alone, Nonno!" Lovino said, followed by swift footsteps as Lovino rushed for the stairs, his dark red hair mussed terribly. Nonno Roma came from the kitchen and smiled as he watched the man flee like a child.

"How are you doing, my cute little grandson?" Nonno Roma asked, coming over to Feliciano. "Your face looks pale. Are you okay? How does your chest feel?"

Feliciano smiled a bit to placate his anxious guardian. "I'm okay, Nonno. I just got a bit anxious earlier when Lovi yelled at me, and it made my heart go to fast, but I'm okay now, I don't hurt or anything." The younger Italian had a knack for being able to speak entire paragraphs in one breath and at a speed that left most people looking a bit stunned or confused, but his family had grown used to it.

"I'll have to speak with Lovi later." Nonno Roma said, mostly to himself. "He knows you can't be excited like that, you could—"

A frantic knocking at the door interrupted Nonno Roma's mumbling, and the man looked up towards the door with a rather wary expression, as though he already knew who was there. Light footsteps sounded on the stairs as Lovino peeked down, expression troubled and confused.

"Boys, I want you all to go do something else." Nonno Roma said in a deadly serious voice, so unusual for the normally happy man. "Go into another room or go upstairs, I don't really care. Just go."

Feliciano trembled, terrified at whatever could have caused such a radical change in his cheerful Nonno. For a second he didn't move, but Ludwig grabbed one arm, Seraphino grabbed the other, and together they pulled Feliciano into the kitchen. Lovino stole in behind them as Nonno Roma shut the door to the kitchen and let whoever was at the door inside.

Lovino whipped out a glass and pressed the rim soundlessly to the door. He lay his ear against the bottom of the glass to eavesdrop.

"Fratello!" Feliciano grabbed his brother's shoulder as he whisper yelled. "You can't do that! If Nonno finds out, you'll get in big trouble!"

"Shut up, fratello." Lovino said in response, knocking his bother's hand off. "Something is really wrong, I can tell. And I want to know what's happening." He placed his ear back to the cup, until a solid thump made Lovino jerk away as Nonno Roma banged his hand on the door.

"Don't listen in, Lovino Vargas, this is a private conversation!" Nonno Roma snapped, voice sounding close to the door. Lovino gazed at his brothers and Ludwig with wide green eyes, looking more like a child then a man who had already finished his studies. Obviously, the young man had heard something, and it wasn't good.

"Lovino." Ludwig's voice surprised Feliciano. He knew his brother and his best friend did not get along, so to hear his German friend speak so kindly to the man was shocking. "Lovino, tell us what you heard. Please." Ludwig said, looking as though he had choked a bit on that last word.

"He's talking to Antonio and Elizaveta." Lovino said naming their Spanish neighbor, Antonio Fernandèz Carriedo, and Elizaveta Hèrderávy, an ex-girlfriend of Gilbert, Ludwig's brother. "They're talking about… about… about going to war." The dark red head boy was unbelievably pale, and Feliciano felt a bit faint himself as the words swam around in his head.

"That's what I was afraid of." Ludwig sighed, running a hand over his slicked back blond hair, releasing some of the corn silk strands to fall onto his forehead as he closed his brilliantly sky blue eyes.

"Luddy?" Feliciano asked nervously. "Do you know something?"

"Ja, I'm afraid so." Ludwig said with a troubled look to the door. "However, I was hoping that the rumors were false."

A light knock on the door to the kitchen made them all jump, and Feliciano opened the door with shaking hands to see Nonno Roma, a gravely serious look adorning his face. Antonio and Elizaveta were sitting on the couch with equally serious expressions, and Feliciano's heart thumped anxiously.

"You aren't the only one who listens at doors, Lovino." Nonno Roma said somberly. "Yes, it appears that we will be going to war very soon. Antonio and Elizaveta have been acting as spies for me for quite some time now."

"I have heard these war rumors from my grandfather." Ludwig said. "If this war erupts, Gilbert will join the German army."

Nonno Roma's eyes hardened slightly, and Feliciano swallowed nervously. They had moved to Germany solely to be close to such a good hospital. Nonno Roma rather detested the German army, seeing as he had had a brother die fighting against them in the Great War. "Is that so?" Nonno said, voice slightly chillier then it had been.

"Yes sir, it is." Ludwig stood firmly under Nonno Roma's gaze, and it wasn't long before Nonno Roma broke eye contact.

"Luddy, maybe you should get home?" Feliciano said a bit nervously as he watched this exchange.

"Yes, you're right, Feliciano." Ludwig said. He picked up his school issued sachet and left without a backwards glance.

Lovino and Seraphino looked equally confused, as though it hasn't sank in that a war could be starting soon. Antonio leaned over and whispered something to Elizaveta, and she stifled a smile. Feliciano sat down heavily in a chair and drew his knees up to his chest.

"You'll need to be ready." Nonno Roma said seriously. "If this war really does break out, then we'll have to be ready for shortages and a harder life. Things are about to change."


	2. Chapter 2

September 1, 1939

Feliciano skipped happily alongside both of his brothers, a cheerful grin spread across his face. The day was nice, his heart felt normal, and, best of all, he was going to a party.

A young man in town, Roderich Edelstein, was throwing a get together at his house. Since Roderich was friends with Elizaveta and more-or-less friends with Gilbert, Ludwig had been invited, and Ludwig invited the Vargas brothers. Feliciano was beyond excited, for it had been a long time since he had been well enough to attend one of Roderich's parties.

"For God's sake, would you calm down, Feli?" Lovino said in his normal grumpy manner as he jogged a few steps to catch up with his excited younger brother.

"Cut him some slack, Lovi!" Seraphino said with a laugh. "It's been a while since he's been out."

"If he passes out, you're carrying him." Lovino muttered darkly.

"Aw, I'll be okay, Lovi!" Feliciano said happily. "You wouldn't have let me come if I wasn't okay, and you did let me come and so did Nonno so I must be okay to go to the party which is great cause I'm really excited!"

Seraphino laughed as Lovino gave a weary sigh. Their amazingly optimistic, frail, cheerful brother often did confuse them.

"Look, there's the house!" Feliciano cried happily, pointing like a little kid. A tall, blond form was waiting at the door. "And Luddy!"

"Great… That damn potato bastard is here…" Lovino muttered angrily. While his two younger brothers stopped to talk with the German, Lovino stalked past and inside the house.

"Luddy! I'm so excited! This is going to be a great day!" Feliciano said cheerfully, skipping in circles around his serious friend.

The blond German rarely ever smiled for anyone except Feliciano, and even that was rare. Ludwig did not smile now, though Feliciano did notice that his eyes were warmer and brighter now.

"Well, if you're that excited, let's be getting in before the party is over." Ludwig said in a deep, even tone.

Feliciano trotted through the door obediently next to Ludwig, then ran off excitedly into the crowd, calling merry greetings to the people he recognized, laughing as he came across Seraphino flirting shamelessly with some pretty German girls, and basically running around until his heart pounded and he had to rest.

"There you are!" Elizaveta's warm smile shone down on the exhausted Italian adolescent, who had collapsed in a chair by the door. "Your friend is looking for you."

"Luddy?" Feliciano asked hopefully. As he said the word, the familiar blond parted the crowd, a glass of water in one hand. Following him closely was Roderich.

The young man, originally from the country of Austria, was a sort of pompous aristocrat, a renowned pianist and violin player, kind of pretty man with brown hair that was always neatly done, save for one piece that generally stuck straight in the air and curling gently at the top. He had unusual dark violet eyes, which were framed by his glasses. A small beauty mark took up residence under his mouth.

"There you are, Feliciano." Ludwig said, kneeling beside the chair. "I figured that you would have run yourself down by this point."

Feliciano smiled tiredly at his serious friend and was surprised when he received a small smile in return.

That smile did something to Feliciano, though he could never tell anyone, not even his Nonno, in fear of what he would get as an answer. But the truth was, when Ludwig Beilschmidt smiled, it filled Feliciano with an indescribable lightness, and made his heart beat too fast in a good way. When Ludwig smiled, he was the most beautiful person in the world, and Feliciano didn't want to look away.

Of course, he could never tell Ludwig this. It would ruin their relationship, Feliciano was sure of it.

"You're right, Luddy." Feliciano giggled. He accepted the glass of water that Ludwig offered and took a grateful sip.

"Hey there, Roddy!" a pale arm suddenly wrapped itself around the aristocrat's shoulders, and Gilbert grinned, white hair shining and red hair gleaming.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Roderich moved away from Gilbert, and Feliciano laughed at the aristocrat's affronted expression.

Suddenly, the front door to Roderich's house slammed open, and silence fell over everyone inside as they all turned to the door. Feliciano couldn't see who it was, but when they spoke, their voice conveyed fear.

"Germany has invaded Poland!"

Within seconds, chaos erupted. The glass slipped from Feliciano's hands and shattered on the floor, some girls screamed, and there was almost a stampede to leave. Ludwig, still kneeling beside Feliciano's chair, looking frozen there.

"STOP!" The commanding tone caused everyone to freeze, and Feliciano saw Antonio leap onto a chair, on the other side of the room. "Everyone, please don't panic! Calm down, gather your families, possessions, and leave in a calm manner."

People actually seemed to be listening to the Spaniard's advice. The panicked frenzy had stopped, and some people were even carrying on with dancing to the radio. Gilbert put a hand on Ludwig's shoulder.

"We need to get home, Ludwig." The man, who considered himself as Prussian rather then German, sounded gentle for once. "Großvater will be worried about us."

"What about Feliciano and his brothers?" Ludwig said, shooting the frail Italian in the chair a worried look.

"I'll get us home." Lovino had appeared from nowhere, Seraphino in tow, looking like he was scared, but trying very hard to hide it.

"Alright." Ludwig said. He stood reluctantly, and Gilbert hustled him from the house even before Feliciano got to say good-bye.

"Come on, Feliciano." Lovino said, grabbing hold of his brother's hand and pulled him from the chair.

Feliciano had no choice but to follow his brothers as they left the house, saying a hasty good-bye to Roderich, and making their way hastily home.

Immediately, Feliciano knew they were going too fast. Even before they were out of sight of Roderich's house, his heart was thumping frantically, and not long after that, his breath was rasping painfully in his lungs; he couldn't get a full breath. His hand slipped from Lovino's and he stumbled a few steps forward before dropping like a rock to his hands and knees, head swimming, suffocating.

"Oh shit!" Lovino's voice reached Feliciano as though through a tunnel as the collapsed boy tried to slow his breathing in vain. "Feliciano!"

"Lovi? Is he okay?"

"Damn it! Sera, run home, get Nonno! As fast as you can! Come on, Feli, you'll be okay. Breathe, okay? Just keep breathing. Nonno will be here soon."

Despite Lovino's best efforts, Feliciano fell unconscious, slumping to the ground.

Feliciano coughed as he regained consciousness. His head hurt terribly, and he could feel the residual ache still in his chest. But he was still alive, still breathing.

The redhead took in the familiar hissing sound of an oxygen machine, feeling the mask that dominated the lower half of his face, taking a deep breath of it. Feeling a bit better, he reached up a hand to rub his eyes before opening them.

"Feli, how are you feeling?" Nonno Roma's anxious face leaned over, pale with fright. "You gave us quite the scare, you know that?"

"Sorry, Nonno…" Feliciano said in a vaguely raspy voice. He blinked and looked around, befuddled. "Am I in the hospital?"

"Yes." Nonno Roma said. "Seraphino came and got me, but you were unconscious by the time we got to you. You stopped breathing, Feli."

Feliciano's breath caught in his throat for a moment. He gazed at Nonno Roma with wide eyes, who, now that Feliciano looked closer, looked like he hadn't slept. "I-I died? But… But I'm here now, right? I know I'm alive, because this hurts way too much for me to be dead."

"It was Lovino. He performed CPR on you for three minutes. Right when I was sure you wouldn't come back, your chest moved, your heart beat." Roma said, looking away as though he could barely think about it. "He saved your life."

"W-Where is Lovi? And Sera?" Feliciano asked, looking around for his hot headed older brother and flirtatious younger brother.

"No one was sure if you'd wake up." Nonno Roma said. "I wouldn't let them see that. They're at home."

"When can I go home?" Feliciano asked.

"Very soon." His grandfather promised. "Now that we know you'll be okay, we'll be able to take you home since we have everything there to take care of you now."

"Nonno, did you hear?" Feliciano asked as his memory sparked. "Germany invaded Poland! Is this the war—"

"Not here, Feli!" Nonno Roma hissed, glancing around. "When we get home, we'll talk, okay?"

"Okay." Feliciano let his eyes flutter closed for a second. He felt exhausted, even though he had just woken up, and Nonno Roma looked sympathetic.

"You should get some sleep, Fels." Nonno Roma said, using Feliciano's nickname that was only used when the young redhead was ill. "I promise you'll be out of here and home soon enough."

"Okay." Feliciano said again, yawning behind the oxygen mask and letting his eyes stay closed this time. He was asleep in minutes.

When he woke next, it was to Nonno Roma's hand shaking him gently. "C'mon, Feli, it's time to go home." The older man said.

Feliciano stretched slightly and opened his eyes. The oxygen mask was gone from his face, and he sat up carefully, room spinning for a second as he adjusted to being upright. As his vision settled, his eyes came to rest on a wheelchair being manned by a friendly looking nurse.

"Okay, I'm ready." Feliciano said. His Nonno helped him into the wheelchair, and stayed close by his side until they got to the car.

Although their car was brand new and the latest model, Feliciano severely disliked it. From its shiny black exterior to its rather cramped inside, it was a detestable machine to the Italian that preferred to walk places when he could.

But now, he had no choice but to be loaded into the front of the car, unusually docile as he sat gazing out the window on the way home.

"Fratello!"

Seraphino's arms were around Feliciano eve before he could get out of the car at home, holding his older brother tightly until Feliciano carefully unwound his arms.

"It's okay, Sera." Feliciano said with a smile. "See, I'm back now, so that means that I'm okay!"

Feliciano grabbed his brother's hand and swung it between them as they walked into the house, Nonno Roma bringing up the rear.

Then Feliciano heard a sound from behind him, and he turned to see something astonishing.

Marching down the street, perfectly in sync, were a platoon of German soldiers, eyes straight ahead, shoulders back. And marching in the first row of these new recruits was none other then Gilbert Beilschmidt, who had indeed joined the army.

Everything was starting to change.


	3. Chapter 3

September 12, 1939

After Feliciano's recent stint in the hospital, he was put on bed rest to give his body a bit more time to heal. So he spent the days bored out of his skull and more impatient by the day, and Seraphino started spending all of his free time with his brother to keep him from getting bored.

For some reason, Ludwig had not been by once since the start of the war, when his brother ushered him home so quickly they didn't even get to say good-bye. Feliciano missed his serious German friend badly. It didn't help that Feliciano knew he had missed Ludwig's eighteenth birthday.

"Alright, I'm going to school." Seraphino said, poking his head in Feliciano's room. "See you afterwards, fratello. Nonno is going out, so call Lovi if you need something."

"Okay." Feliciano said absentmindedly, staring out the window from his laying position in bed. "Tell Luddy to stop by if you see him."

"Sure thing." Seraphino said, and was gone.

Feliciano continued his blank gaze out the window. A sudden pain in his chest made him cough for a moment, and he rolled over to his side as it settled into a steady ache.

He was bored.

A sudden knock on his bedroom door made him roll over to his other side, facing the door. "Come in?" he asked, bemused. Nonno Roma was out and Lovino apparently didn't know what knocking was.

"Good morning, Feliciano!" the warm voice of Elizaveta said as his door was opened, the smiling, brown haired young woman stepping daintily into the room.

"What are you doing here, Elizaveta?" Feliciano asked, propping himself up on an elbow, a smile spreading over his face.

"I came here to talk to Roma, but I suppose he's out right now. And I can't find your brother, so do you mind if I wait here for Roma with you?"

"Of course not!" Feliciano said, sitting up and ignoring the protest in his stiff muscles and sore heart. "Elizaveta, can you tell me what's happening with the war?"

At once, Elizaveta looked uncomfortable. "You know Roma doesn't want me telling you anything about the war." She said hesitantly.

"Elizaveta, please!" Feliciano insisted. "I want to know what's going on!"

Finally, the brunette relented, sighing. "Promise that you won't tell your grandfather."

"Promise!" Feliciano said instantly. His heart thumped painfully from a mix of excitement and anxiety.

"After Germany invaded Poland, a small French army was sent to try to fight them off." Elizaveta began. "That was five days ago, and I fear that the French army will be withdrawn before long. Two days after the war began, France and Great Britain set up a naval blockade of Germany. That's really all we know right now."

"Hm…" Feliciano hummed thoughtfully in his throat, a small frown creasing his brows. "So we are positive at least that Britain and France are against Germany?"

"That is right, and Antonio found out that America is planning to stay neutral during this war." Elizaveta said.

Feliciano considered this for a moment before the tiny frown adorning his face melted away to be replaced with his trademark smile. "Thanks for telling me, Lizzie! Nonno doesn't want me or Sera to know anything about the war for some reason, and it's been driving me crazy not knowing what's happening."

"Glad to have helped." Elizaveta smiled. "Now, I can here your grandfather in the kitchen. Don't tell him I told, okay?"

"I promise!" Feliciano said instantaneously.

"Good. Feel better, Feliciano." She left his room, shutting the door softly behind her. A moment later Feliciano could hear her and Nonno Roma speaking in hushed tones.

With a sigh, he flopped back down in bed, curling up loosely on his side. His heart condition left him tired often, so he let his eyes flutter closed.

"Oi, Feli, get your lazy ass up. Nonno wants to talk to us!" Lovino's not too gentle hand shook Feliciano awake, and the younger redhead sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Okay, I'm coming!" Feliciano said cheerfully through a yawn as he yanked back the covers and got carefully to his feet. "What does he want to talk about, fratello?"

"I don't know, but it's something important." Lovino said, a bit of nervousness flitting across his face for a second. "Now come on."

Feliciano followed his older brother to the sitting room where Nonno Roma, Seraphino, Elizaveta, and Antonio were seated. Feliciano took a seat beside his younger brother, and Lovino, after Antonio smiled at him and Lovino scowled in return, sat as far away from the cheerful Spaniard as he could.

"Okay, we're all here." Seraphino said. He sounded a bit nervous, too. "So what is it that you wanted to tell us?"

Nonno Roma surveyed the room with deep honey eyes. "We moved here, to Berlin, because Feliciano needed to be close to a hospital that was familiar with his condition and had better medical equipment then where we lived before."

Feliciano looked at his hands. He knew that was why they moved to Germany, but he hated hearing it all the same because the move made Lovino so angry.

"But now," Nonno Roma continued, "another war has broken out, and it has the potential to be even worse then the Great War. Not only that, but it was the Germans who started this, and things are only going to get worse here."

"What are you saying, Nonno? I'm confused." Lovino said; face harboring one of his characteristic frowns as he gazed at their grandfather.

"I'm saying that Feliciano's condition won't get much better now, and other hospitals have excellent medical care now as well. I think Germany is becoming dangerous. If you are okay with it, I'd like to move back home."

"Home…?" Seraphino said, bemused.

"Nonno, do you mean that we're—" Feliciano started.

"-Moving back to Italy?!" Lovino said. For once, his angry look was replaced with an expression of almost joy.

"That's right." Nonno Roma said, grinning broadly. "I've been thinking about it for a few weeks now, ever since the rumors of war started."

"YES!" Lovino leapt to his feet and punched the air with his fists, and Feliciano clapped his hands excitedly, leaping up and ignoring the protest in his heart, laughing along with Lovino. Seraphino was cracking up laughing as well.

"Alright, calm down!" Nonno Roma said, smiling at his excited grandsons. "Come on; sit down before you hurt yourselves."

Lovino and Feliciano sat on the couch. Feliciano's face stretched in a huge grin, and Lovino was obviously trying very hard to regain his "I-don't-give-a-damn" attitude and failing miserably at it.

"When are we going to leave, Nonno?" Seraphino asked, facing a hand on Feliciano's shoulder as the frail boy regained his breath.

"By the end of this week, hopefully." Their grandfather said, standing. "Now, we won't be able to take everything with us on the train, so pack everything important before toys or other such items."

"Okay!" Lovino said. He jumped up, green eyes sparkling, ready to go pack right then.

"Hang on." Nonno Roma said, holding up a hand. "There will only be enough room for each of us to take two bags on the train, so remember what I said."

"Yes sir." Lovino said, and then made his exit.

Antonio leapt to his feet a second later. "I'll go keep him company." He said before racing out of the room after Lovino.

"Come on, Sera, let's go pack!" Feliciano cried excitedly, leaping to his feet again and pulling his younger brother up with him.

The two brothers were heading to Feliciano's room, slower then Lovino had been to accommodate for Feliciano's heart, when there was a sudden knock at the front door, and both brothers turned towards the door and Elizaveta slipped out the back door and Nonno Roma went to open the front door.

"Luddy!" Feliciano cried happily, backtracking quickly to hug his friend. "Where have you been? You haven't really been by to see me, and I missed you, but you came to visit today so it's okay."

Feliciano looked up with sparkling honey eyes, his elated expression quickly turning to a bit of a frown as he got a good look at his German friend's face. Ludwig's normal serious expression almost seemed frozen, as if he were hiding something.

"Roma." Ludwig addressed the older man, face still in that froze, kind of scary expression. "I feel it my duty to inform you that I have enlisted in the German army."

"What? But Luddy—" Feliciano's protest was cut off.

"I could only just now enlist, however I had been in boot camp for a while now. I know you harbor certain distaste for the German army, which I am now a part of, but I would very much appreciate it if I were still allowed to visit—"

"Get out."

Nonno Roma's face was even scarier then Ludwig's. The older man's face was livid with anger, and his hands, balled into fists at his sides, shook. "Get out." He repeated. "You are not welcome here anymore, and you are not allowed anywhere near me or any of my grandsons. Understood?"

"Yes." Ludwig said. He removed the stunned Feliciano from the front of his shirt and turned to leave.

But Feliciano was persistent, clinging to his friend's sleeve. "Please don't leave me." Feliciano whimpered. "Nonno, don't let him leave me!" His breath came faster as his heart throbbed steadily in his chest, tears blurring his vision.

Ludwig turned back, gently removing Feliciano's hands from his clothes. Feliciano looked up, and through the tears, he could see just how much this was hurting Ludwig. It didn't make it any better.

In the process of moving Feliciano's hands away from him, Ludwig discreetly dropped a folded piece of paper into the Italian's shirt pocket. Then, before Italy could even protest again that Ludwig was leaving, the tall blond had left, shutting the door behind him.

Staring, wide eyed, Feliciano didn't realize that Nonno Roma was speaking to him. The words simply sounded like the radio like when they couldn't find a station. He was barely aware that Seraphino was leading him gently to his room. It wasn't until everyone, even Lovino and Antonio, had come to try to talk to him, and he was finally left in peace, did Feliciano return to normal, focusing again. With trembling hands and pained breaths, he pulled the hidden paper from his pocket.

Feliciano,

I'm so sorry that you had to find out like this. If you're reading this, it means Roma got angry as I expected. I speak English better then I write it, so I'm sorry for any mistakes.

I promise that I'll come see you again, before I'm shipped off into battle. I'm not sure when I'll be able to come by, so just leave your window unlocked for me, okay? I have something very important I need you to know before I leave, and it would be better for you to hear it in person.

I'll be by soon, I promise.

Ludwig

Feliciano slowly went and unlocked his window, then slumped to lie on his bed. Ludwig was going to go fight the war. Was going to leave him before he even knew how Feliciano felt about him.

"I'll tell him when he comes by." Feliciano promised himself. "I'll tell him I love him!"


	4. Chapter 4

The departure date for Italy was looming closer and closer, and yet Ludwig still had not been by. Feliciano was beginning to worry. Was Ludwig even going to show up? And if he did, would it be in time to say good-bye? If Feliciano had to leave with his confession still sitting heavy on his shoulders, he didn't know what he would do.

Meanwhile, Berlin was changing. Nonno Roma was the first to notice, when he had gone to the market and found various shortages in food. Feliciano could see German soldiers and soldiers with strange armbands marching in perfect unison down the streets. But there was one thing that frightened Feliciano above everything else that was happening.

People were starting to disappear.

Feliciano didn't go outside much, so it took awhile for him to notice. On a day when Feliciano had been well enough to accompany his grandfather to the market, he had seen a friend of his, a young Lithuanian boy named Toris Laurinaitis, walking briskly as though he were searching for something.

"Buon giorno, Toris." Feliciano said, a concern frown crossing is face. "Is something the matter?"

"Ah… Good morning, Feliciano." Toris said distractedly. "Listen, you haven't seen Feliks around, have you?" The Lithuanian teenager's green eyes were bright with concern under his longer brown hair.

Feliciano shook his head, his frown deepening slightly. Feliks Łukasiewicz was an interesting character, and very hard to miss. He was a young teenaged boy who most people assumed was a girl. His tendencies to dress in women's clothing combined with his naturally feminine features (shoulder length blond hair, sparkling green eyes, and smooth fair skin) and a girlish personality to make him one of the most coveted "girls" in Berlin. But the pretty Polish boy only had eyes for Toris.

"No, I'm sorry, I can't say I have." Feliciano said fretfully. "But we'll keep an eye out for him. Right, Nonno?"

Nonno Roma was watching Toris with a rather sad expression, but it was quickly hidden away with a smile as he turned to his grandson. "That's right." He said reassuringly.

No one had ever found Feliks.

Now, Feliciano stared out the window in his room, not really seeing the scenery as he sat cross legged on his bed, when suddenly a smiling face was in front of him.

"Hey there, Feliciano!" Elizaveta said, sitting next to the Italian on the bed. "Do you feel like taking a walk to go visit Roderich with me?"

Those words sparked Feliciano's interest instantly, and he smiled brightly. "I do!" he said instantly. "But Nonno told me that I'm not allowed to go outside without him cause of the German soldiers and he's afraid I'll get hurt or something but I think I'd be fine."

Elizaveta's smile faltered for a second as she processed what Feliciano had said. Then her smile returned in full force. "Don't worry, Feli. No one is going to touch you if you're with me."

Feliciano had to laugh. Elizaveta had been the most feared person in Berlin until she finally got her temper under control. Now, she was sweet and nice, but not afraid to bash a few heads if the situation called for it. The young Hungarian woman had knocked Ludwig's older brother senseless more times then Gilbert cared to admit when they were younger.

"That wouldn't be fair to the Germans." He giggled breathily as the motion made his chest hurt.

"Exactly." Elizaveta said. "Now let's go."

Feliciano slid his shoes on and followed dutifully, their feet falling on the familiar path for Roderich's house.

They were in sight of the aristocrat's house when a storm a group of German soldiers shoved by them roughly, crashing into Feliciano, who surely would have fallen had Elizaveta not caught him.

"They're headed to Roderich's house…" Feliciano noted as he gathered his feet under him. He looked at Elizaveta to see her face drain of color. She ran towards the house, leaving Feliciano to follow at his own slower pace.

By the time Feliciano caught up, Elizaveta stood in horrified silence. The German soldiers were so close that Feliciano could read the band on their arms. Distantly, he wondered what SS stood for.

The SS officers knocked the door open, and Feliciano could hear the lovely notes of Chopin being played on Roderich's grand piano. Feliciano pulled the still frozen Elizaveta to the window and they peeked in. Roderich didn't even look up as the SS officers stormed his living room. He merely sat tranquilly at the piano, letting the beautiful melody reached their ears even through the window.

The SS officers stood, not taking action. They almost appeared to be captivated by the music. Finally, the smooth melody came to an end, and Roderich stood slowly, lifting his chin and making no protest as the SS officers grabbed him roughly and shoved him bodily from the room.

The two crouching at the window turned as Roderich was led past them, and he caught Feliciano's eye, looking sad when his gaze moved to Elizaveta. He was shoved into the waiting truck, and the officers drove him away.

"Eliza…?" Feliciano asked timidly as he turned to the woman by his side. "I-I don't understand. What's happening? Where did they take Roderich?"

Elizaveta wept into her hands, her long brown hair shielding her face. Carefully, Feliciano took her elbow and began to guide her back to his house, his mind buzzing with a mix of confusion and sadness and his heart thumping painfully.

Feliciano sat on a bench to catch his breath. The emotional and physical stress was making his pulse speed up and his chest feel kind of tight. He leaned over, trying to regulate his breathing, when Elizaveta returned to herself.

"Feliciano, are you alright?" she asked worriedly. Her face was blotchy and her eyes still shimmered, but she seemed much more in control now.

With a coughing gasp, Feliciano squeezed out a small "yes" to pacify Elizaveta, who obviously wasn't buying it. Feliciano let out a startled sound of surprise as he was lifted from his seat, and he was left with no choice but to scramble onto the strong Hungarian woman's back as she began to walk him home.

"Eliza, are you sure you're okay?" Feliciano asked quietly. He could feel her shaking slightly, heard her breath hitch and catch in her throat as she tried not to cry. He gasped quietly as a sharp pain tore through his chest.

The woman carrying him cleared her throat and looked back at Feliciano with puffy eyes. "I can't help Roderich anymore, but I can help you. I'll be okay, Feli, just worry about you."

Elizaveta's voice was calming, and Feliciano rested his chin on her shoulder and tried to concentrate on slowing his raspy and painful breaths. He was starting to feel a little bit dizzy, but they were almost home now.

"Lizzie, there you are! Roma's been waiting for you so we can discuss—Oh mi Dios is Feli okay?" Antonio's worried face hovered before Feliciano's eyes, and the Italian smiled weakly in welcome.

"I'll take him back to his room. You get Roma or Lovino." Elizaveta said, walking past the Spaniard and down the hall to Feliciano's room, depositing the frail redhead there as Nonno Roma came into the room, looking rather concerned.

"Elizaveta, what happened?" Nonno Roma asked as he reached for Feliciano's oxygen mask and helped the redhead put it on.

"Roma, they…" Elizaveta's resolve seemed to waver for a moment, and then whispered, "They got Roderich."

Nonno Roma's hands froze for a second, and then switched on the oxygen. Feliciano took as deep a breath as he was able, clearing his head, as his Nonno's face grew somber. The older man pulled Elizaveta close for a second and Feliciano, who was still weak and dizzy, reached out a hand to cover Elizaveta's.

"When?" Nonno Roma asked, coldly serious.

"When Feliciano and I were headed down to see him, they took him right in front of us." Elizaveta said, trembling. "The SS stormed his home and took him!"

Nonno Roma held the trembling young woman for a moment longer, and then stood her. "You should go home for the say." Nonno Roma said. Antonio can fill you in on the meeting tomorrow." He turned to look at Feliciano. "I'm going to walk Elizaveta home. If you need something, just call for Lovino, okay?"

"Okay, thanks, Nonno." Feliciano said voice raspy.

He let his eyes close for a moment, and wasn't even aware that he had drifted off into a doze until he heard what sounded like something hitting glass. Feliciano sat bolt upright, heart hammering and the oxygen mask still on his face. Startled honey eyes swept the room, until they came to rest on his window. Where there was a familiar head of slicked back blond hair and eyes bluer then the sky.

"Luddy!" Feliciano cried softly, yanking off the oxygen mask and scrambling off his bed. He reached the window just as Ludwig pushed it open and climbed in quietly.

Feliciano wrapped thin arms around Ludwig, holding him as tight as he could as Ludwig's arms encircled him to return the gesture. The Italian stretched up as far as he could on his tiptoes to bury his face into Ludwig's neck, feeling happy and complete once again, a brilliant smile crossing his face.

"You read the note, right?" Ludwig asked instantly, pulling back so he could look Feliciano in the eye.

"Yes I did, and now I'm confused because I have something to tell you too, only I'm kind of afraid too but I know I have to tell you before you leave because what if I never see you again? That would really be bad." Feliciano took a deep breath, ready to spill his secret. "But the truth is, I like you Luddy. I really like you, and I'd even say I love you."

Ludwig blinked, opened his mouth as though he were gong to say something, and then closed his mouth again. A second later he sighed softly. "Feliciano, you know that boys are not supposed to feel like that for each other, right?"

Instantly, Feliciano was sure he would be rejected, and his heart beat faster, and he felt like he was going to be ill. Ludwig pushed Feliciano down so he was sitting on his bed, looking quite concerned.

"That's not what I'm saying!" Ludwig said quickly. "I wanted to say that I feel the same way, Feliciano! Ich liebe dich!"

Feliciano blinked back tears and looked up into Ludwig's beautiful blue eyes, which shone with the truth of what he had just said. A huge smile spread across the Italian's face, and Ludwig was smiling a bit too. Slowly, so Feliciano didn't even notice at first, their faces were moving closer, closer. Their lips were maybe a millimeter apart when a sudden knock sounded at Feliciano's door, accompanied by the voice of Seraphino.

"Go!" Feliciano hissed, shoving at Ludwig's chest. The German nodded, crossing the room swiftly and quietly to exit via the still open window. He disappeared from sight as Seraphino came into the room.

"Why do you look so happy?" Seraphino said as he sat next to his older brother on the bed.

"I just am." Feliciano replied. "I'm just in a really good mood right now!" He punctuated his sentence with a characteristic giggle.

His mind returned to just a moment previous. Hearing those words, that long awaited confession that Feliciano was sure he would never get. And they had almost kissed! Feliciano had never kissed anyone before, other then greetings sometimes. But that was because he was Italian more then anything. He hoped Ludwig could come by again soon, and then, maybe, they could kiss for real. He could kiss the one he had loved for years.

"It's just a beautiful day today." Feliciano said to his younger brother, still smiling.


	5. Chapter 5

It was the night before they were to leave for Italy when Ludwig came by next. Feliciano had been laying in bed, trying to fall asleep, but was so excited about leaving the next day that he simply could not wind down enough to sleep, when a gently tapping at his window caught his attention. The sound was followed immediately by the sound of his window, which he always kept unlocked now, sliding open, and Feliciano sat up and turned with a smile to see Ludwig clambering quietly as he could through the window.

"Verdammt!" The German word that fell from Ludwig's lips wasn't one that Feliciano knew exactly, but he had heard Lovino use it a couple times when he was really angry, so Feliciano could guess that it wasn't something very nice.

"Luddy, you came to see me!" Feliciano said happily, remembering to keep his voice lowered as he scrambled out of bed and flung himself at the blond.

Ludwig rolled his eyes in good humor. "Of course I came to see you. Do you think I'd just tell you that—" his face turned red "—I had… feelings for you and not come to see you anymore?"

"Of course not!" Feliciano giggled quietly. Then he frowned slightly, looking up at the German with a furrowed brow and a pout.

"What's the matter?" Ludwig asked.

"I forgot to tell you." Feliciano whispered. "Nonno Roma is moving us back home tomorrow. To Italy. He said that he doesn't want us here because Germany is too dangerous from the war and it'll only get worse now, but I really don't want to lose you, Luddy! You're my…" At last, Feliciano was forced to trail off, unsure of what Ludwig was to him now.

With a deep sigh, Ludwig gathered his arms around the Italian and held him to his chest as tightly as he dared. Dipping his head down so his lips were right by Italy's ear, he whispered, "Its okay. This isn't going to last forever. One day the war will end, and I promise I'll find you again."

Feliciano sighed softly into Ludwig's shirt. The strong blond who held him in his arms was able to erase the hurt before it even set in. They stood that way, arms wrapped around each other in a tranquil and warm silence, until Feliciano suddenly yawned hugely, remembering how late it was, and Ludwig pushed away gently.

"Get some sleep, Feliciano; you have a big day tomorrow." Ludwig said, gently pushing Feliciano until the redhead sat dutifully on the bed, lip already poking out a bit in the beginnings on a pout.

"But then you'll have to leave, and I don't want you to." Feliciano said insistently, even as he rubbed at sleepy eyes.

Ludwig seemed to consider this for a moment, and then shrugged slightly before coming around to the other side of Feliciano's bed. "How about I lay with you until you go to sleep?" the German blushed as he said this. Feliciano knew he just was not a touchy- feely kind of boy, so this offer surprised him. Not that that was going to let him pass up the opportunity.

"Okay!" Feliciano hopped into bed and burrowed under his covers and settled quickly, red locks fanned out over his pillow, blinking his wide honey eyes up at Ludwig, whose bluer then blue eyes sparkled as he lay on top of the covers next to Feliciano.

Even under the covers, Feliciano could feel Ludwig's warmth, and it wasn't long before the redhead dropped off into a peaceful sleep.

.~*~.

When Lovino woke Feliciano early the next morning, the younger redhead was not surprised to see he'd woken alone, just disappointed. But looking up to see his usually scowling brother smiling, it was hard for Feliciano to keep his melancholy mood.

"Are you up, Feli?" Lovino asked, green eyes sparkling excitedly. He bounded back out of the room before Feliciano could even move, calling "Nonno said to get up! Feli, we're going home today!"

The redhead climbed out of bed, laughing at his elder brother's obvious excitement. He went over to where he had set out his clothes the night before and dressed quickly, stuffing his nightclothes in one of his bags. Once the bag was closed again, he dragged it, along with his other bag, into the living.

"Buon giorno, my grandson!" Nonno said cheerfully, standing from the kitchen table. "Are you completely packed?"

Before Feliciano had the chance to answer, a quiet knock came at the door, and Elizaveta let herself in, looking as though she had not slept the night before. With a pang, Feliciano remembered the scene he and Elizaveta had witnessed the day before. The poor woman in front of them looked as though she were grief-stricken.

"Elizaveta!" Nonno went over to the smaller woman and embraced her gently. "How are you? You don't look as though you've gotten much rest."

"I came to let you know I won't be accompanying you to Italy as originally planned." Elizaveta said. "I want to stay here, in case Roderich…" she didn't finish, and Nonno Roma rubbed her back soothingly.

"That's fine." Nonno Roma said gently. "If you ever need somewhere to go, or if you need anything at all, you come to us, or write us."

"Thank you, Roma." Elizaveta said, and Feliciano stood, walked over to Elizaveta, and hugged the Hungarian woman swiftly when Nonno Roma released her. He would miss the woman who had been one of his closest friends.

After Elizaveta left, Nonno Roma sent Feliciano to make sure he didn't forget anything important. As the redhead teenager passed his brother's room, he frowned slightly, backtracking a few steps to peek through the keyhole. His mouth fell open in shock.

Lovino, his cold, prickly, kind of scary older brother, was _kissing _Antonio! Feliciano could only gape in shock, watching as Antonio's arms wound around Lovino's waist, and Lovino had him fingers wrapped into Antonio's chocolate brown curls. When some control over his body returned to him, Feliciano stood and opened the door, causing the two to spring apart like guilty lovers, which Feliciano supposed they were.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT FELICIANO!" Lovino yelled, face instantly growing as red as a tomato. "What the HELL! Haven't you ever heard of knocking?!" As Lovino screamed, Antonio was laughing, completely calm and collected.

Feliciano took a step backwards at his brother's raised tone, eyes wide. "But you never knock before you come into my room." Feliciano pointed out, at the same time flinching back a step from his angry elder brother. "Fratello, were you kissing Antonio?!"

As soon as those words fell from Feliciano's lips, Lovino's face went from an intense angry tomato red to deathly pale, to the point of Feliciano became worried that his older brother was actually going to faint. Antonio seemed to share this feeling, for the darker skinned Spaniard grabbed hold of Lovino's arm as though to support him if he were to faint.

"D-Don't tell N-Nonno!" Lovino finally choked out, grabbing Feliciano's arm in a painfully tight grip. "Please, Feliciano! Nonno will kill us!"

Feliciano blinked, momentarily confused to why it was such a big deal, then remembered what Ludwig had told him on the night where they had confessed his feelings. "Feliciano, you know that boys are not supposed to feel like that for each other, right?" For whatever reason, two boys could not be in love. However, Feliciano loved Ludwig, and it was obvious now that Lovino loved Antonio.

"I won't tell Nonno, Lovi!" Feliciano said instantly. "I promise I won't so PLEASE let go of my hand, you're hurting me!"

Lovino cussed and dropped his brother's arm, and Feliciano rubbed the offended wrist. "Sorry, fratello." Lovino muttered.

"Boys, are you all almost ready?" Nonno Roma stuck his head in and faltered. The older man looked from Antonio, who was looking between the two boys, Lovino, who was still rather pale, and Feliciano, who was gently rubbing his wrist. "What happened?" he asked.

"Nothing! It's nothing, Nonno Roma!" Lovino practically shouted, his face turning faintly pink again.

Nonno Roma did not look convinced. In all honesty, he looked suspiciously from Antonio to Lovino, brow furrowed slightly. Feliciano practically see Lovino getting nervous, and a faint look of realization in Nonno Roma's eyes almost made Feliciano's stomach drop, and he wasn't even the one who was on the verge of being in some very hot water.

"Antonio, maybe you should go make sure you have everything ready to go." Nonno Roma's voice was rather cold, and Antonio paled slightly, and then rushed from the room. To Feliciano's (and undoubtedly Lovino's) relief, Nonno Roma left afterwards.

Feliciano gave Lovino a frightened glance before fleeing as well, rushing back the hallway and closing the door behind him, then turned and gasped in surprise, a hand flying up to his heart. Standing at his window was a German soldier.

A moment later, Feliciano relaxed, laughing a bit in relief as he went to the window and opened it, smiling down at Ludwig. The German was decked out in his complete military uniform, complete with a hat atop his slicked back blond hair.

"You scared me, Luddy!" Feliciano laughed quietly.

"Forgive me, Feliciano, I did not mean to." Ludwig said in his deep voice, the corners of his mouth curling up oh so slightly. "I was hoping I could catch you before you left for the train station."

"Then it's good you came when you did." Feliciano said softly. "We're leaving as soon as Seraphino gets home. He went to the market early this morning to get us something good to eat while we're on the train."

"I had better go soon, then." Ludwig mused, brow furrowing slightly. "If your brother catches me, then we are both dead."

Feliciano bit his lip. "Aw, Luddy, I really wish you could come with me. I mean, it's going to be wonderful going back home to Italy, and it will be nice to be away from the war, but I'm really, really going to miss you."

Ludwig reached his hand up gently to touch Feliciano's cheek, silencing him. "It'll be okay, Feliciano. Remember what I told you, I'll come find you one day. I promised."

"Boys, it's almost time to go!" Nonno Roma's call echoed through the house, making both Feliciano and Ludwig jump. Both looked frozen, too frightened to relax, until they were certain that Nonno Roma was not going to come in.

"Shit, that was close." Ludwig muttered, glancing around. "I have to go, Feliciano."

"Can I ask you for a favor—actually two favors—before you have to leave?" Feliciano asked, blinking at Ludwig with his wide honey eyes.

With a sigh, Ludwig nodded. "Ask away, Feliciano. But please be swift, we don't have much time." He reminded the little Italian.

"Well…" Feliciano hesitated, something that was quite unusual for him. "We're not going to get to see each other for a long time, right? Well, I really want to hear you say you love me again." With these last words, Feliciano's cheeks blushed a delicate pink that contrasted well with his fair skin.

Ludwig, if it was possible, blushed even darker than Lovino had earlier when Feliciano had walked in on him and Antonio kissing. Actually, Feliciano was fairly sure that that shade of red had not even been invented yet.

"I-Ich liebe dich…" Ludwig said, turning his head to the side.

Feliciano leaned over slightly so that his nose was only about an inch from Ludwig's, and his tear filled honey eyes met Ludwig's bluer then blue ones. "Can you say it in my language, Luddy?" he asked in a whisper.

"T-Ti amo?" the Italian words were too rough coming from a German throat, the cadence all wrong, but their meaning was clear, and the tears spilled from Feliciano's eyes.

"Ich liebe dich, Luddy." Feliciano whispered in German that was too singsong due to the redhead's Italian accent.

Impossibly, Ludwig's blush was even deeper at this reply. The German shook his head to clear it, and then asked, "Well, you said you had two favors. What is the other one?"

"Kiss me." Ludwig went pale at these words, and Feliciano bit his lip, worried, he had gone too far.

In the next moment, however, a hand wound in Feliciano's red hair and pulled their faces together. The kiss was innocent, chaste, warm, and everything Feliciano could ever have dreamed of and more. His eyes fluttered closed, and he sighed softly into the kiss. After a long moment, Ludwig pulled back, looking equally star struck as Feliciano felt.

"Thank you, Luddy…" Feliciano breathed happily.

"Believe me, Feliciano, it was no hardship for me." Ludwig said softly. He tipped his hat slightly to Feliciano. "I have to go now, Feliciano."

With a quiet whimper, Feliciano threw his thin arms around Ludwig's neck and pecked him on the cheek. "Please be safe, Ludwig!" Feliciano whispered. "I love you, so you have to come back to me one day, okay?"

"Of course I will, Feliciano. You take care of yourself, alright? I love you too. Until the world ends."


	6. Chapter 6

It had been just over a month since Feliciano and his family had returned to Italy, to a quaint little village in the middle of Italy, where the weather was still mild despite the approaching winter. The house they moved into was small, with only two bedrooms, a small kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom, but none of them minded, for the house was set in the center of a beautiful field on the outskirts of town. Feliciano, Lovino, and Seraphino all shared one room while Nonno Roma took the other, and they were settling in quite well.

Within a week of the move, Feliciano's health improved amazingly, and he was able to live almost completely normally. He was going back to school and would be able to graduate at the end of the year. Nonno Roma blamed it on the "bad air" in Berlin, and that Italy's cleaner air was much better for Feliciano's heart.

There was, however, one thorn in the Italian's heart. A certain Ludwig Beilschmidt remained, hovering at the back of his mind constantly. Feliciano wondered where he was, if he was okay, when he would come back. There were no answers, though. Nothing to tell him what was happening to his beloved.

"Hey Feliciano, are listening to me?"

The redhead jerked, realizing he had been zoned out and completely missed what his younger brother had been telling him.

"Sorry, Sera." Feliciano said, smiling sheepishly at his brother as they walked home from school. "My head was in the clouds. What were you saying?"

"I was saying about how it's weird to hear so many German voices around here now." Seraphino said, lowering his voice as the two passed a pair of German soldiers. "I mean, I wasn't expecting to hear that ever again, you know?"

Feliciano smiled a bit sadly. "I know. No one was expecting for German soldiers to be stationed here, in such a quiet little town."

"You're hoping to see him here, aren't you?" Seraphino said softly. Feliciano didn't even have to ask to know who he meant.

"If I do, he'd be working a lot, so I'd barely be able to see him. Especially now that I can go back to school. I do miss him, though." Feliciano gave a small sigh and kicked at a pebble in his path, sending it flying ahead of them.

"I miss my old friends, too." Seraphino admitted.

Feliciano knew that Seraphino would never understand how Feliciano felt about Ludwig. Not many people would. Even Lovino, who was still with Antonio as far as Feliciano knew, didn't understand how Feliciano could love "the enemy".

Lovino had started going on about how the German people were terrible and evil, and about how Italy's Fascist government would end it unless the Italian people fought back. The dark redheaded man had started talking about joining La Resistenza, the resistance made up of Italians fighting against the Fascist government. Nonno Roma, who just wanted to live in peace with his grandsons, was vehemently opposed to the idea.

"Ooh, look, Sera!" Feliciano said excitedly, bounding forward a few paces. There was a clump of wild lavender blooming along the side of the path. "I love how pretty the purple is! We can pick some and dry it out because it smells real nice and Nonno told me it helps you sleep."

"Alright, Feliciano!" Seraphino laughed, kneeling beside Feliciano, who was plucking a few stems of the pretty purple flower. "We should give some to Nonno. I hear him up at night a lot."

"Okay!" Feliciano said, smiling as he stood and rearranging his satchel, placing the stems of lavender carefully atop his school books. "Now we'd better get home quick, before Nonno starts to worry."

The two boys made their way home, where they walked in on a sight that wasn't too unusual now. Lovino and Nonno Roma were both on their feet, standing only inches apart, yelling so loud to be heard over the other that it was impossible for the two younger boys to hear what they were even arguing about. Antonio was standing in the background, looking as bemused as Seraphino and Feliciano.

"What happened?" Feliciano gasped. Instantly, both arguing men shut up, looking over in surprise at the two youngest Vargas members. Both looked furious with the other, and it only took a moment for them to engage in an angry staring contest.

"Your brother has some news for you." Nonno Roma said in a voice that positively dripped anger. "Tell them, Lovino."

"I joined La Resistenza." Lovino said, voice cold as he stared deep into his grandfather's eyes. "I'll be helping fight for a free Italy."

Antonio hurried over to Seraphino and Feliciano, ushering out the door. "Why don't we go play some football?" he said, holding up the easily identifiable black and white football. "We'll be back for dinner, Roma!"

Feliciano had no choice but to be pushed along by Antonio, back behind the house, far enough away that they couldn't hear the yelling. Only then did Antonio drop his hands, letting the football fall to the ground.

"Lo siento, but I don't think you two wanted to hear that." Antonio said, sighing and running a hand through his dark curls.

"Not really." Seraphino said. "Thanks, Antonio."

"Roma is just worried that Lovino is going to get hurt." Antonio said, leaning against the trunk of a young oak tree behind him. "Honestly, so am I. I know there is no talking Lovino out of it, though. He's set his mind on this."

"So what are you going to do?" Feliciano asked, sitting in the grass in front of Antonio. He knew that Antonio still loved Lovino, and now that Lovino was placing himself in harm's way, with no way to discourage him, the situation seemed pretty hopeless to Feliciano.

"I'll join the Resistance as well, to keep an eye on him." Antonio said firmly.

Feliciano gasped, and so did Seraphino. "But why must you do that?!" Seraphino said. "Do you know how dangerous being in La Resistenza is?! You'd be putting your life on the line!"

"That's the point." Antonio said, giving them a rather cheerful smile. "I'm not letting Lovi put his life in danger by himself. No matter what he says, he's reckless and gets himself into dangerous situations. He'll need someone to keep an eye on him."

"You're very brave, Antonio." Feliciano said softly. He knew that the only reason Antonio was doing this was because he loved Lovino with every fiber of his being, enough that hew was willing to endanger his own life just to keep Lovino safe.

"Hey, Antonio?" Seraphino asked, settling down on the grass next to Feliciano. "You used to travel a lot, right?"

"Yes, I did.'' Antonio laughed cheerfully. "It wasn't just me, though. I traveled with Gilbert Beilschmidt and Francis Bonnefoy."

"Who is Francis Bonnefoy?" Feliciano asked, leaning forward slightly.

"The third member of our little trio." Antonio said with a reminiscing look in his jade eyes. "He lives in France, but every year, right before school let out; we would skip close to a fortnight of school and go traveling all around Europe together. Sometimes, we wouldn't even drive or hitchhike or anything, we would just walk. But I'll tell you that the best trip we went on was right after the three of us graduated."

"Where did you go?" Seraphino asked excitedly; he and Feliciano were captivated in the Spaniard's tale.

"Everywhere!" Antonio's eyes gleamed. "We started off in France, since Gilbert and I had never been there before. After that, we spent the fall in Switzerland, which was weird because everyone had guns on them. We spent half of the winter in Egypt and the other half all the way up by the Baltic Sea in Latvia and Poland. Let me tell you, it was cold up there!" Antonio shivered comically to emphasize his point, making the Italians laugh. "Come spring, we went to the Untied Kingdom for a little, but Francis almost got arrested in Scotland, so we left pretty quickly." Antonio laughed. "We went to Austria and Hungary, which is where Gilbert got kicked out of a bar. Or three. Anyways, it was Francis's brilliant idea to go to China in the summer, but the part of the Soviet Union we tried to pass through was freezing, so we talked him out of it. In the end, we spent the summer in Portugal and Czechoslovakia before Francis returned to France and Gilbert and I returned to Berlin."

"That's amazing, Antonio!" Feliciano said, laughing. "Oh, that sounded like it was so much fun! I wish I could do that!"

"I agree!" Seraphino said, grinning broadly. "I would love to go to France!"

With a cheerful laugh, Antonio said; "Maybe, after the war ends, you two can go on your own tour of Europe. Now, we'd better get back to the house soon."

The two Italian boys looked up to the sky. Feliciano had not realized that it was beginning to get dark out, but the sun had sunk below the horizon, casting deep shadows. They were already probably late for supper, now that the redhead thought about it.

"Do you think that Nonno and Lovi are still fighting?" Feliciano asked, casting a nervous glance towards the house.

"There's only one way to find out." Antonio said, standing and picking up the abandoned football. "Now come on, let's go."

Feliciano and Lovino allowed Antonio to herd them back towards the house, their identical honey eyes meeting every now and again in nervousness about what they would find in their house.

However, they needn't worry, for Lovino wasn't in the kitchen when they got home, and Nonno Roma was putting dinner on the table, giving them a tired smile when they came in. Nervously, Feliciano set his satchel by the door and removed his shoes as Seraphino did the same.

"Are you boys hungry?" Nonno Roma said in a falsely cheerful voice as he set a pot on the table. Feliciano sniffed the air, catching the scent of his favorite meal—pasta.

"Yes!" Feliciano said eagerly, all nervousness forgotten as he hurried forward to sit at the small table.

"Ah, I didn't even realize I was hungry." Seraphino admitted as his stomach growled loudly. He sat next to Feliciano, smiling.

"Would you like to stay for dinner, Antonio?" Nonno Roma asked, his smile beginning to look more real. "We have plenty, and I'm sure you must be starving." He added as he set a loaf of fresh bread on the table, still hot from the oven.

"I guess I can stay." Antonio laughed, sitting next to Nonno Roma at the table and receiving a smile from both Feliciano and Seraphino, who were working at loading up their plates with the delicious looking pasta.

No one brought up the argument or the eldest Vargas brother during dinner, though Feliciano was wondering where he had gone. When dinner was over and Antonio had gone home, Feliciano retired to the room the three brothers shared.

It was there that Feliciano finally found Lovino, who was sitting, hugging his knees to his chest, on his bed. Not sure what to do or what to say, Feliciano instead walked over to his own bed by the window, pulling a pair of nightclothes from the small dresser and changing quickly. Even if his health had improved, the redhead still became tired easily.

"Feliciano." Lovino's voice made the redhead jump.

"What is it, Lovi?" Feliciano asked, walking over and sitting on the bed next to his brother, who didn't look angry at all for once, simply very sad.

"Does Nonno hate me?" Lovino's voice was meek and unsure, and Feliciano felt his heart soften. He leaned over, wrapping his thin arms around his brother's shoulders, trying to be comforting.

"Of course Nonno doesn't hate you." He said softly. "Nonno is worried about you, he's afraid that you're going to get hurt. That's all. He's not angry with you, Lovi. Just scared for you. So are I, and Seraphino, and Antonio."

"Antonio?" Lovino asked, looking to his brother with confusion furrowing his brow.

"Of course!" Feliciano said. "He's very worried."

"That bastard doesn't care about me." Lovino muttered, hiding his face.

Feliciano felt a bolt of shock. "What?! Yes he does, he cares very much about you." Feliciano said insistently. "Lovino, he told me he was going to join La Resistenza to keep you safe."

"I don't need protecting from that stupid tomato bastardo!" Lovino said angrily, jumping to his feet. Feliciano couldn't help but laugh. His brother was fine.

"You like tomatoes too, Lovino!" Feliciano giggled.

"Not the point!" Lovino snapped. "Go to bed to bed, Feliciano!"

"Okay, Lovi." Feliciano padded across the room to his own bed and slid under the covers, yawning hugely as his eyelids fluttered closed automatically. He was asleep within moments.

.~*~.

_Feliciano looked around him. He was still in his room, tucked safely in his bed, hearing the soft snores of Lovino and Seraphino mumbling in his sleep. Feliciano turned his head, towards the window, a small spread across his face, returning the smile of the blond peering through the window._

_With a floating slowness, Feliciano sat up, and then unlocked the window, which his Ludwig crawled through easily, landing silently on the mattress next to Feliciano. The redhead yawned, and Ludwig gently pushed him so he was laying down, then lay flush with the sleep warm body. As Feliciano began to fade, he caught the sensation of cool, slightly chapped lips pressing to the back of his neck._

.~*~.

Feliciano sat bolt upright, blinking at the early sunlight streaming through his window. The dream had been so realistic, and it hurt Feliciano to know that it had merely been a dream, his mind showing him what he wanted to see.

With a sigh of sadness, Feliciano flopped back down on his bed, and then rolled quickly over when he heard the distinctive crinkling of a piece of paper from under him. He picked up the folded paper and opened it. Tears shimmered in his eyes as he read the words on the paper, the four words he had been longing for, the promise made of love a month ago. And there was only one person who knew them.

Until the world ends. That's what the note read.

_Ludwig!_


	7. Chapter 7

Close to six months passed with no further notes from Ludwig, and making the year 1940. Although Feliciano knew that Ludwig had to be quite busy with working, it was killing the redhead to know that he could be so close. The day he had found the note, Feliciano had gone to the market, searching and hoping for his Ludwig to be there. This had proven in vain, however, for if the blond was here, he wasn't out in town, and there was no way that Feliciano was going to ask any of the German soldiers if they knew who Ludwig Beilschmidt was.

Lovino had indeed joined La Resistenza, and Antonio had indeed joined as well. Lovino, of course, huffed and complained about not needing a babysitter, but Feliciano knew his brother better then that, so he knew that Lovino was secretly pleased. However, Lovino's usually less than civil attitude about Antonio, in and out of his company, seemed to appease Nonno Roma, who stopped looking at Antonio and Lovino so suspiciously.

"Good-bye class, see you all tomorrow!" Feliciano's teacher called to her class as her students filed out the door, chatting amongst themselves cheerily. Feliciano hummed to himself as he walked alone, searching out his brother from the younger students.

"Let's go, Sera!" Feliciano said cheerfully, grabbing his brother's hand and swinging it between them. However, no sooner had they stepped foot outside the school, an earsplitting explosion shook the ground beneath their feet, and Feliciano stumbled.

Many of the students, terrified, ran in every direction. But once Feliciano had regained his footing, the two ran back into the school, to Feliciano's classroom and hiding under the desks, just like Nonno Roma had taught them to.

Feliciano shook horribly, forcing himself to swallow down the acid that rose in his throat as they waited in the terrible silence, waiting for another explosion, waiting to be blown sky high. His heart, normally so healthy now, pounded so hard he could feel the pain radiated through his heaving chest. For a moment, Feliciano was sure that he was going to either pass out or be physically ill.

"Boys, are you in here?"

Feliciano almost cried with relief as he and Seraphino scrambled out from under the desks, hurtling themselves at the strong, solid figure of Nonno Roma, who stood in the doorway, eyes crinkling up in a smile when the two teenagers hugged him.

"There, there." Nonno Roma said soothingly, wrapping his arms around them and holding them both close. "It's okay; it was a plane that dropped a bomb by mistake. We're not under attack."

"Thank God…" Seraphino said in a trembling voice as Feliciano let out a shuddering breath, one hand pressed subconsciously over his still frantic, painful heart.

"C-Can we go home now?" Feliciano asked in a whimpering voice, looking pleadingly up at Nonno Roma with his big honey eyes.

"I think we should. You do not look well at all, Feli." Nonno Roma said, surveying his grandsons with worried air. "Actually, neither of you do. Now, let's go home."

Feliciano plodded along listlessly behind his grandfather, feeling each breath as though it were burning his left lung, the lung in which the bullet had fragmented in all those years ago. Seraphino gripped his hand tightly, his skin pale and amber eyes wide. Nonno Roma kept glancing back at them, a though checking to make sure they were still there. It was with great relief that they entered the house.

"Why don't you two go lay down, and I'll bring you both something sweet, okay?" Nonno Roma suggested, gently nudging the two boys in the direction of their room.

Neither Feliciano nor Seraphino offered up any argument, simply made their way to their room in silence. In mutual, unspoken agreement, they both climbed into Seraphino's bed, away from the window where the dark smoke was tainting the sky. Feliciano propped himself up against the headboard to breathe easier, and Seraphino burrowed under the covers until only the top of his red hair was visible, his head resting on Feliciano's lap. Without even coming to a conscious decision, Feliciano let his hand drift down and stroked Seraphino's hair, wanting to offer some comfort to the brother whose entire body trembled as he cried.

It was amazing that Feliciano was able to forget that Seraphino was still a child. Sure, the youngest Vargas flirted like the ladies man he was and sometimes seemed more responsible then his elder brothers, but in reality, Seraphino was only fifteen years old, still shorter then many of his classmates. He was still a child, while Feliciano was almost an adult.

The door creaked open a moment later, and Nonno Roma entered, holding something in his hands with a smile. Seraphino dried his eyes under the safety of the blanket before sitting up to face his grandfather. Feliciano pressed close to his brother, unable to disguise the shaking of his own hands as easily as Seraphino had been able to hide his tears.

"What do you have, Nonno?" Seraphino asked, voice breaking slightly on the last word.

"It's something we haven't had for awhile." Nonno Roma said gently, placing something in each boy's hands. They looked down.

"Cioccolato!" Feliciano gasped, honey eyes wide open in gleeful surprise.

"Where did you get it, Nonno?" Seraphino asked eagerly, examining the bar from all angles before tearing it open. Feliciano followed suit quickly.

Feliciano sighed in heavenly bliss when he took the first bite, eyes fluttering closed as the familiar, yet wonderful, taste melted in his mouth. "Thank you, Nonno!" Feliciano said, smiling widely. "This is the best!"

"I'm glad you boys like it, but you'll have to thank Antonio next time you see him." Nonno Roma said. "He picked it up when he was last in Germany."

"We will!" Seraphino said happily, and then frowned slightly. "Where are Lovino and Antonio?" he asked, looking around.

"They're out on a mission." Nonno Roma said, glancing off to the side. "They should be back by dinner."

At those words, Feliciano set his chocolate bar off to the side, his appetite gone. It always made his stomach clench to think of his brother out there. Shooting people. Planting bombs. Putting himself in constant danger. He looked to the side and exchanged a look with Seraphino.

"I know that it's hard to think about, but it's what he does now. We can't stop him. All we can do now is support him as much as we can and pray." Nonno Roma said in a resigned voice.

"Yes, Nonno." Seraphino said dutifully.

Feliciano opened his mouth to reply as well, but a sudden pain gripped his chest, squeezing his heart and lung and forcing his breath out in a pained cry. Nonno Roma and Seraphino both jumped and Feliciano leaned forward, gasping in a bit of air and pulling his knees up to his chest. A film of sweat broke out on his skin as he struggled for breath.

Right away, Nonno Roma lifted Feliciano up off Seraphino's bed and carried him over to his own bed, gently easing the redhead to a laying position on his side before pulling the too familiar oxygen mask over. Carefully, he fitted it to Feliciano's face and turned on the switch. Feliciano let out a pained whimper, and Seraphino sat on the edge of his older brother's bed, letting Feliciano grip his hand tightly.

"Hush now, Fels. You're okay." Nonno Roma said soothingly, smoothing the teenager's red hair back with a gentle hand. Feliciano sniffled quietly. His heart had not hurt this bad since Berlin.

Letting his eyes drift closed, Feliciano took deep breaths of the oxygen supplied to him by the mask. After about ten minutes, the pain in his chest evened out into a tolerable ache that was already beginning to fade. Feliciano gave a deep sigh of relief, then fell quickly into sleep.

.~*~.

Here in this charming little corner of Italy's countryside, it was easy to forget about the atrocities of war happening in other countries around them. Or at least that was what Feliciano had believed. Now, however, his brother was part of the dangerous Resistenza, and a stray bomb had exploded near town just earlier that day, accidentally killing two people and hurting many others. So it was with a heavy heart that Feliciano sat, staring out the open window from his bed, admiring the pretty blue of the sky.

Feliciano had simply been staring off into space, his oxygen mask sitting by his side from where he had taken it off after he woke up, when a piece of paper fell into his lap.

"Oh?" Feliciano said to himself curiously. He picked up the paper, which was wrinkled, a bit smashed, and frayed around the edges, and opened it.

Feliciano,

I am so sorry it took me so long to contact you a second time, and that my first message was so… crude. I am back; I am stationed here in Italy. It you are feeling up to it, please come meet me tomorrow. There is a field near your home with a copse of trees standing alone in a circle in the middle of the field. Please meet me there near noon.

Until the world ends,

Ludwig

With a squeal of happiness, Feliciano crushed the abused paper to his chest, then pulled back to read it again, to trace his fingers over that name, a wide grin on his face. His Ludwig was back! They were going to get to see each other the very next day! Feliciano was unsure about how he was going to sleep that night. But the very best part was that Feliciano _would _be able to see Ludwig tomorrow. Even though he had been in pain earlier, his heart felt fine now, and there was no way that he was going to miss this.

"Feli?" Seraphino's voice made Feliciano jump, and the older redhead quickly shoved the paper under his pillow just before his little brother came into the room.

"What is it, Sera?" Feliciano asked, turning away from the window to smile at his little brother.

Seraphino sat on the edge of Feliciano's bed, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. The younger boy just looked so worried and dejected that Feliciano wrapped an arm around him automatically to try to comfort him.

"What's the matter?" Feliciano asked gently, tilting Seraphino's face up so honey eyes met amber ones.

"I don't know." Seraphino said. "Feli, I feel like something really bad is going to happen!"

Feliciano pulled his brother close, giving him a reassuring hug. "There, there." Feliciano said, repeating the same soothing phrase that Nonno Roma used. "Don't worry. Whatever happens, we'll be just fine, okay? Do you want to know why we'll be just fine?"

"Why?" Seraphino asked quietly.

"Because we're a family, right?" Feliciano smiled cheerfully, and was pleased when Seraphino smiled slightly in response. Feliciano sniffed the air, saying "I smell something good; I think Nonno is making dinner. Why don't you go see if he needs any help?"

"Okay." Seraphino stood and walked to the doorway before turning back slightly. "Ti voglio bene, fratello." He said softly.

"Ti voglio bene, fratellino." Feliciano said with a smile. Once his brother had gone from the room, Feliciano sighed and lay back on his pillow, pulling out the paper and reading it yet again.

A smile rose unbidden to his lips as he read those four words again. Until the world ends. A declaration that could mean absolutely anything, but held a special, intimate message for Ludwig and himself. Part of him thought he liked hearing that more then he liked hearing Ludwig say he loved him. Until the world ends was deeper, more secret, and absolutely beautiful.

Before he even realized it, he had dozed off again, and didn't wake until he felt someone shaking his shoulder roughly. Feliciano startled awake, bolting upright and wadding the paper in his hand so whoever had woken him didn't see it.

Nonno Roma had woken him, and Feliciano could tell, through one look in his grandfather's eyes, that something bad had happened. Dimly, Feliciano remembered Seraphino's "weird feeling" from earlier and felt his stomach drop.

"Come on, Feliciano, we have to go!" Nonno Roma said urgently, and Feliciano scrambled out of bed, grateful to still be dressed in his school clothes.

"What happened, Nonno?" Feliciano asked frantically, following his grandfather. They stopped briefly for Seraphino, who grabbed Feliciano's hand. Nonno Roma glanced over his shoulder at the two of them.

"Lovino's been hurt."


	8. Chapter 8

Three figures cut their way through the falling dark, moving quickly through the gloom. Nonno Roma led Seraphino and Feliciano, all three moving at a fast pace, one that could have killed Feliciano back in Berlin when his heart was still really bad. But now, the redhead was able to easily keep pace with his younger brother and his grandfather, all of them silent with only one thing on their mind.

Lovino's been hurt.

When Nonno had said those three words, Feliciano was fairly certain his heart had stopped for a moment as panic froze his body. Then he had sprung into action, charging out the door with his grandfather and Seraphino.

Suddenly Nonno Roma stopped, and Seraphino and Feliciano came to a stumbling halt behind him, hands on their knees, panting. The tall man looked down at Feliciano and said, "I'm carrying you the rest of the way."

"My heart… is fine…" Feliciano gasped out between deep breaths. It was true; despite the hard pace, his heart beat quickly, but normally.

"I don't have time to worry about you right now, Feliciano!" Nonno Roma snapped, making both boys look at him in shock. A moment later, Nonno Roma sighed. "I'm sorry, Feliciano, but what if your heart gives out like earlier? Please, it'll make things easier." The tall man said, running his hand through his silver streaked dark red hair.

Feliciano nodded, giving his consent, and scrambled onto Nonno Roma's back with a bit of help from the older man, and they set off once more, moving even faster to make up for the lost time, Feliciano clinging tightly to his grandfather's shoulders to keep from falling.

At long last, they reached a house that was unfamiliar to Feliciano, but Nonno Roma walked right in and up the stairs, and Feliciano realized it was a hotel of sorts. Nonno Roma walked briskly down the hall and stopped at the one near the end of the hall, knocking three times, pause, then once. The door opened.

"Oh thank God, Roma!" Antonio said in obvious relief, looking as though he had been dragged to hell and back. He was dirty, disheveled, and a magnificent bruise was beginning under his left eye. His speech was a bit thick due to a puffy, bloody lip.

"What happened?" Nonno Roma said, no nonsense as he let Feliciano back on his feet.

"We were planting a bomb in some artillery that was headed for the Germans." Antonio said. "The bomb detonated early, and the guy holding it was nothing. Lovino took some shrapnel through the right shoulder, and I think he hit his head when he fell. He's lost a lot of blood, but he should be okay. I have some other guys here with shrapnel wounds." The Spaniard looked worn out as he pointed to another door in the apartment. "Everyone who got hurt is in that room." He said.

Without waiting for Nonno Roma's permission, Seraphino and Feliciano bolted to the back room, flinging the door open.

Feliciano recoiled immediately at the smell of blood, nose wrinkling as his wide honey eyes surveyed the room, past partisans who were awake and moaning or silent and unmoving, until they came to rest on a still figure with red hair.

"Feli, he's over there!" Seraphino said, pointing at the exact moment that Feliciano saw his older brother. They went over to him, where he was laying under a thin blanket on a mat on the floor. Bloody bandages littered the floor around him, and a red stain showed through the bandages wrapped around his wounded shoulder and bared torso. His face was pale, and the familiar scowl was gone from his face, but when the two younger brothers approached him, his eyes flickered halfway open.

"Lovi?" Feliciano whisper asked, feeling scared as he knelt beside his brother, reaching out and taking one of the young man's hands. Seraphino copied the action on the other side, looking pale.

"Damn it…" Lovino cussed, his voice alarmingly faint. "I can't believe… that after everything… it was a… fucking _bomb_ that… knocked me down!"

Feliciano had to laugh as relief flooded his body. His older brother was going to be just fine. Suddenly, a shadow loomed over him, and Feliciano looked up to see Nonno Roma crouching by Lovino's head, brushing back the young man's hair.

"You stupid boy." Nonno Roma said, no anger in his voice. "I told you that joining La Resistenza was foolish. Now you've gone and nearly got yourself blown up."

Lovino laughed weakly, then gasped at the movement, his grip on Feliciano's hand tightening painfully, then suddenly relaxed, his eyelids shutting.

Nonno Roma stood. "He's passed out." He said, sighing. "I'm going to have Antonio take you boys home for the night. I'll stay here with Lovi and help Antonio take care of all of the partisans who were injured."

"Can't we stay here with you, Nonno?" Seraphino protested. "Feli and I can help you and Antonio take care of everyone!"

"No." Nonno Roma said. "Go home, get some sleep."

Antonio came over and said; "Okay, let's go", and Feliciano and Seraphino were left with no other choice but to obey. They stood, kissed their grandfather goodbye, and followed Antonio out the door.

"So Antonio?" Seraphino asked when they were about halfway home, walking in the light of the moon. "How did you get a black eye? That doesn't look like it was from bomb shrapnel. You look like you were punched."

"I was." Antonio said nonchalantly.

"What?!" Seraphino and Feliciano said in unison. "Who punched you?" Feliciano asked.

The Spaniard laughed. "Your brother. After he got hit with the shrapnel, he was bleeding and cussing (and teaching me some new words) and threw a punch at me. Obviously, he nailed me right in the eye."

Feliciano bust out laughing, and Seraphino followed suit. They giggled for a couple minutes, stopping and then starting all over again, until the two Italians finally managed to control themselves.

"That reminds me of something." Seraphino said, laughter still in his voice. "Fels, do you remember when Lovi cut his foot?"

"Yes!" Feliciano giggled. "He cut his foot on some glass, and then he went limping around the house, trailing blood everywhere and swearing like a sailor until he just turned and slammed his fist into the wall for some reason and broke his hand. And then he tried to convince Nonno he was fine and that he wasn't crying even though he was, I mean I would cry if it happened to me, even without punching the wall, like the time I got that big splinter in my hand and Nonno had to take it out and it hurt."

"Okay, Feli, we get the point." Antonio chuckled as they arrived at the small house. They went inside, and Feliciano automatically looked up at the clock to see that it was past one in the morning, and the redhead still hadn't eaten.

"I'm hungry." Seraphino said a moment later.

"Would you like me to make you boys something to eat?" Antonio asked, walking over to the cabinet and opening it to survey the contents inside. "It looks like you have all the ingredients for tomato soup." He commented.

"Ooh, yum, I love tomato soup!" Feliciano said happily, while Seraphino looked vaguely bemused.

"I've never had it before." The youngest Vargas brother said, confused as he looked at his brother. "So when did you have it, Feli?"

"Whenever I was in the hospital, Luddy always visited and brought me some." Feliciano felt a pang of sadness that was quickly replaced with happiness. He was going to get to see his Ludwig before very long.

"Well then, you boys just sit right down and the _asombroso _Antonio whip some up!" Antonio said cheerfully, pulling ingredients from the cabinet and humming a catchy tune under his breath.

Seraphino shot Feliciano an unsure look, which the older Vargas boy translated as a conflicted look about the tomato soup. Seraphino was a very picky eater and liked to stay with the foods that were familiar, so he wasn't sure about trying the tomato soup.

"You'll like it." Feliciano assured with a big smile.

"I'll take some back to the hotel with me when I leave." Antonio said as he worked with the ingredients. "It'll be something easy for Lovi to eat while he recovers."

Seraphino sighed, and the kitchen went silent after that, staying quiet long for Feliciano to lose himself in his thoughts.

It was around two in the morning now, and there were about ten hours until Feliciano would be able to leave, to go meet in the trees, to see Ludwig. It was Saturday, so Feliciano didn't have school to go to, and Seraphino had already made plans to go to a friend's house for the day. If Nonno Roma stayed with Lovino all day, then Feliciano wouldn't have to worry about getting caught with the boy that he loved and most of his family hated. Maybe he would even be able to bring Ludwig back to the house, to show him where Feliciano lived now. Then the redhead remembered; Ludwig had been here twice already. Once to deliver the note for them to meet up, and the time before that, when he had lay with Feliciano and left a note.

"Here you go, Feli."

"Huh?" Feliciano looked up, jerking out of his thoughts in time to have a bowl of hot tomato soup slid in front of him, along with a spoon. "Oh, thanks Antonio."

"You boys both seem rather glum." Antonio said, sitting across from the two Vargas brothers. "What's wrong? Are you thinking about your brother? Because he's going to be perfectly fine, if he can stay still and out of trouble long enough for his wounds to heal."

"We know." Seraphino said, mustering up a smile. He then picked up his spoon and looked from his soup to Feliciano.

With a chuckle, Feliciano lifted a spoonful of the red soup to his lips. "Oh wow, this is delicious, Antonio!" Feliciano said a moment later. "It's even better then the stuff Ludwig can make, but we can't ever tell him that because it'll hurt his feelings."

At this, Seraphino sipped his own soup cautiously, and was still proclaiming his love for the soup when Antonio left an hour later, carrying a bowl of soup for Lovino and wishing the two brothers a good night.

It wasn't long after this that Feliciano and Seraphino decided to head to bed.

"Feli?" Seraphino asked as they lay in their separate beds, both staring up at the ceiling.

Feliciano rolled to his side, facing his brother's bed. "What is it, Sera?"

"Will you lay with me? Or can I lay with you?" The youngest Vargas brother asked. Feliciano agreed and scooted over to make room for his brother, who was undoubtedly feeling the absence of Lovino's presence as much as Feliciano. Even sleeping in the same bed, it was a long time before Feliciano fell asleep.

.~*~.

Feliciano skipped away from the house happily, a wicker basket hanging from one hand as he went along, barely feeling the exhaustion of a night with no sleep as that copse of trees came closer. He was early, he knew he was, but he simply could not handle sitting in the house alone anymore. As he entered the little group of trees, he gasped, breaking into a sprint at the sight of the tall blond already there.

"LUDDY!" Feliciano yelled, and Ludwig turned just in time to be tackled to the ground in an enormous hug. Feliciano kissed Ludwig's cheeks, his forehead, his lips, and any part of the German that he could reach.

"Good to see you, Feliciano." Ludwig said, a smile breaking through as he fought off the affectionate attack standing and extending a hand. "You look… tired? But good."

Feliciano let Ludwig pull him to his feet and hugged the German tightly, feeling even happier when Ludwig's muscled arms wrapped around him. He let out a laugh of absolute joy, and then realized Ludwig had spoken to him.

"I am tired." Feliciano admitted. "Lovi got hurt, and we were up all last night worrying about him, and Antonio stayed with Sera and I for part of the night. But do you know what? My heart hasn't hurt very much since we moved here, so I can go to school now and go to the market and _run,_ and running is absolutely amazing, Luddy, even if I can't breath very well still, so I can't run far, but I'm faster then Lovi when I do!"

Ludwig looked down at Feliciano, fondness in his bluer then blue eyes as he gazed at the happy Italian. "I've missed you, Feliciano. I'm glad that you are happy."

"Aw, I've missed you too, Luddy~" Feliciano said with a smile, and the redhead snuggled his head against Ludwig's shoulder, trying to stifle a yawn before Ludwig saw. However, the tall German saw him anyway.

"You should get some sleep, Feliciano, if you did not sleep very well last night." Ludwig said, detangling himself from Feliciano's grasp and looking into his face. "You look pale. You should sleep."

There was no way Feliciano would go home yet. He opened his mouth to argue, and then saw that Ludwig had slid off his military jacket, revealing the collared shirt beneath it, and sat with his back leaned against one of the trees.

"Come lay down." Ludwig said, and Feliciano leapt at the opportunity, lying on the sun warmed grass with his head resting on Ludwig's lap. From this position, the redhead blinked his honey eyes up at Ludwig.

"Aren't you going to get bored just watching me sleep?" he asked. No sooner had he finished the sentence did a huge yawn overtake him.

"I have a book." Ludwig said, pulling a slim volume out of his pocket, the title written in German, and flipped it open to a carefully marked page. "So go ahead and sleep, okay?" the blond German said, eyes already drawn to the book in his hand, and his other hand absentmindedly stroking Feliciano's red locks.

Feliciano sighed softly, letting his eyes closed. He was tired, and laying here in the sun with Ludwig was so nice, it wasn't long before the Italian boy began to doze off. However, he jerked back to awareness a second later.

"Oh! I forgot!" Quickly, Feliciano propped himself up and pulled Ludwig's head down for a slow, sweet kiss. "Ti amo, Luddy." He said softly, smiling.

"Ich liebe dich, Feliciano." Ludwig's voice was equally soft as Feliciano settled himself back down and felt Ludwig drape his warm military jacket over Feliciano. "Until the world ends."

Feliciano smiled softly as he fell into sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

"Feli?! _Ludwig?!"_

Feliciano woke with a start, blinking up at the shape looming over where he lay, and for one terrible moment, Feliciano was sure that it was Nonno Roma or Lovino. Then he sighed softly as a small rush of relief surged through him. It was Seraphino.

Seraphino!

Feliciano jerked upright and nearly tumbled over, before a strong hand steadied him before he could face plant into the grass. Ludwig extended a hand and helped the redhead to his feet before they both turned to face the youngest Vargas brother, who looked as though he were confused, happy, and a bit lost.

"Oh, hello, Sera." Feliciano said brightly, flashing a bright smile that he hoped would mask his inner agitation. If Seraphino told Nonno Roma…

"Feli, when did Ludwig arrive here?" Seraphino asked, still looking a bit dumbstruck at the sight of the German. "And why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Your grandfather hates me, Seraphino." Ludwig said in his deep, grave voice. And I'm very much aware that Lovino thinks that all Germans are terrible people. It was in both Feliciano and my favor to keep my arrival here a secret. I did not wish for your brother to get in trouble with his family."

Seraphino nodded a bit, brow furrowing slightly. "Then you two are really lucky." The redhead said. "Nonno had sent me out to look for you, Feli."

"So Nonno's home?" Feliciano asked excitedly. "That's great! Is Lovi doing alright? Did he come home with Nonno?"

Ludwig looked at Feliciano. "Earlier you mentioned that your brother was injured. What happened to him?"

Feliciano and Seraphino froze, looking at each other. Ludwig was a German soldier, Lovino, Feliciano's own brother, was a member of the very organization that was trying to bring down the same Fascist government here that Germany had. Both Vargas brothers shared the uneasy feeling about what would happen if Ludwig knew the truth. Even if Feliciano himself had no desire to be part of La Resistenza, Ludwig may not understand. There was no way they would risk Lovino's safety by telling.

"He fell on the way to the market and smacked his shoulder real bad on the corner of one of the stands." Seraphino offered a second later, without missing a beat.

Luckily, Ludwig nodded once, accepting the story. "I see." The blond said, bending down and picking up his jacket from the ground, dusting it off slightly. "You had better get home if your grandfather is looking for you, Feliciano."

"Yes." Feliciano sighed out the word, disappointed to have to leave already. After all, he had been asleep for practically their entire chance to be together. He looked up at Ludwig, lower lip jutted out very slightly. "Luddy…"

"Well, since we trust you with one secret, Seraphino, may I burden you with one more?" Ludwig asked, his formal expression never faltering in the slightest.

Seraphino looked rather unnerved as he looked up at the much taller German, who had slid his jacket back on. "O-Okay?" the youngest Vargas said, the response half a statement and half a question.

"Gute." With that, Ludwig, very bravely, spun Feliciano against him, and their lips met for just a moment, before he released the redhead, who was giggling.

"Ciao, Luddy!" Feliciano called over his shoulder as he grabbed his brother's hand and pulled the stunned Italian from the clearing.

"Auf Weidersehen."

"Feliciano." Seraphino said as soon as the copse of trees was out of sight. "Did Ludwig kiss you, or did I fall asleep and not remember?"

The older redhead let out a bubbly laugh, squeezing Seraphino's hand. "That really happened, fratellino. Don't tell Nonno, alright?" The look Feliciano gave his younger brother was softened by a smile, but the fear of what the consequences of being caught would be made his honey eyes flare.

Seraphino squeezed his brother's hand in return, a small smile turning up the corners of his lips. "Of course not, Feli. I trust you."

Feliciano shot his brother a grateful glance as they entered their cottage, where Nonno was sitting at the kitchen table, looking as though he had gotten no sleep the previous night. Feliciano went to his grandfather and hugged him.

"Hi, Nonno." Feliciano said, smiling cheerfully as he dropped into the chair next to the older man. "How is Lovi doing?"

"Everyone who was injured in the explosion is doing well." Nonno said tiredly. "Antonio sent me home to get some sleep. I wouldn't have agreed, but I made him sleep some last night."

"You should go sleep, Nonno." Seraphino said, sitting on Nonno Roma's other side. "Feli and I will go to the market before it gets too late, okay?"

"Grazie, my grandsons." Nonno Roma said, dropping his lips to each grandson's copper red hair before standing and making his way back to his own bedroom. Once they heard the door close, Seraphino and Feliciano looked at each other.

"Poor Nonno." The younger brother whispered.

"I know." Feliciano said, running a hand through his bright red hair. Then he stood to slide on his shoes.

"Yes, I suppose we had better go to the market before the sun starts to go down." Seraphino said, running his hand through his hair in the identical gesture that all three brothers had picked up from their grandfather.

"Then let's go." Feliciano said, extending his hand to his younger brother. Seraphino smiled and grabbed his brother's hand, and they walked out the door.

"Race you to that tree!" Seraphino yelled, breaking into a run and letting go of his brother's hand, tearing up the dirt road.

Instead of wasting time replying, Feliciano shot forward, chasing after his brother. It took only seconds for Feliciano to catch up to and quickly get ahead of Seraphino, smiling a bit as he heard his brother's indignant yell behind him. He was almost to the tree now, which was good. He had almost reached the far spectrum of the distance his damaged heart and lung would let him go. Even now he could feel his heart straining and lung hurting, but the redhead did not stop until he reached the tree.

"Phew!" Feliciano panted, bending over and resting his hands on his knees as he sucked air into his lungs as Seraphino trotted the last few steps halfheartedly to where Feliciano was waiting.

"You run so fast, Feliciano!" Seraphino panted, coming to a halt beside his brother, grinning. "How does your chest feel?"

"I feel fine." Feliciano said, resting a hand subconsciously over his heart. "Just let me catch my breath."

In unison, the two brothers sat down on the gnarled roots of the tree, sitting and resting a moment before continuing on their way for the market. They walked in silence along the dirt road; paying little attention to the people they passed. Unless there was a pretty girl, then the two brothers would flirt shamelessly, waving and calling compliments. It was all harmless fun, for many of the villagers remembered when Nonno Roma had lived there before Berlin. They were used to the Vargas family's incurable flirting.

Seraphino and Feliciano made idle chat as they went through the market, picking up the things they needed, paying no attention to anyone around them, until Feliciano suddenly bumped into someone. He looked up into a set of familiar blue eyes, and Ludwig's smile was barely there as he pressed a finger to his lips, warning Feliciano not to say anything, and walking off with a carefully neutral expression. Feliciano smiled and skipped off to rejoin his brother.

On their way home from the market, the two stopped to visit Antonio and Lovino, and were pleased to see that their brother was healing well, and probably using every curse word in every language that he knew. Then they returned home.

"Should we wake up Nonno for dinner?" Feliciano asked from where he was stirring the pot of pasta on the stove.

"Once it's finished, we can wake him up." Seraphino grunted, working on kneading dough to bake some rolls, sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

"Have you heard anything about the war recently?" Feliciano asked his younger brother. Since Seraphino was more down to earth then his spacey headed brother, he generally picked up on more information.

"I've heard a rumor that Germany is planning to invade one of those northern Nordic countries." Seraphino said. "But I don't remember which one."

"I suppose we'll find out soon enough." Feliciano said before turning his attention back to the pasta, humming some made up tune.

It was a familiar tune to both brothers, one that Feliciano had made up years ago and never forgot. After a while, Seraphino had made up some words for it, and now he began to sing them quietly along with Feliciano's humming. Slowly, slowly, their impromptu duet grew louder, until the sound of a door opening made both Italians freeze, cutting off mid line.

"How lucky am I to be woken by the sound of my grandsons' lovely singing!" Nonno Roma said boisterously, looking better than he had earlier.

"Oh my goodness Nonno you scared me so much I thought I was going to drop the pasta on the floor and that would be really sad!" Feliciano exclaimed as his breath rushed out of him. Seraphino merely laughed, taking the pot of pasta from Feliciano and setting it safely on the table.

The three sat at the table and dug into their meal, only glancing briefly out the window when a distant explosion sounded. They lived so close to the Italian Switzerland border that there was a good chance that the bomb hadn't even dropped in Italy. Once the bomb blast faded into the background, they were surrounded once again by the quiet tranquility of the country, and Feliciano closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in the scent of pasta and sauce, mingling with the sweet smells of nature from out the open window.

"I'm so happy to be home." He breathed.

"What did you say, fratello?"

Feliciano opened his eyes to see both his Nonno and brother looking at him, and his cheeks heated up. "I-I didn't meant to say that out loud." He murmured, an embarrassed smile curving his lips.

Nonno Roma smiled gently. "I know, my grandson." He said, placing a hand over Feliciano's. "It's nice to be home again. If I had known that this is all it would take for your health to improve then we would have moved home sooner."

Seraphino was just pulling the warm bread from the oven when a gentle knock came from the door. When Nonno Roma opened the door, it was to reveal a rather sullen looking Spaniard and a still wobbly looking Lovino.

"Lovi!" Feliciano squealed happily, throwing his arms around his brother. "I didn't think you would be home already but you are and Antonio came with you but we just finished dinner except for the bread, so we ca—"

"Let go, Feliciano." Lovino said, interrupting his brother's rambling. "You're crushing me."

Feliciano let go and continued to chatter happily to his brother as Antonio closed the door behind them. Lovino looked up at the taller man, who gave a small nod.

"Nonno." Lovino said, eyes flicking to the door before they traveled back up to meet his grandfather's eyes. "I have something really important to tell you."

All at once, Nonno Roma's cheerful attitude vanished, and he looked serious as a wave of cold dread washed through Feliciano. A glance to his younger brother told Feliciano that Seraphino shared this uneasy premonition.

Lovino started to speak, but he appeared to lose his nerve, and Antonio squeezed the Italian's uninjured shoulder gently.

"When our mission failed, we were running for it as the German soldiers came running out to see what the hell had happened." Antonio said, taking over for Lovino. "Since I had to help Lovi, we weren't as swift as we needed to be to get away."

Nonno Roma's face hardened. "What are you saying, Antonio?"

"I'm saying that the Germans saw us. They have Lovino and my faces."

"Nonno, Antonio and I have to run. They're coming for us."


	10. Chapter 10

Chaos followed.

Within minutes, everyone had sprung into action, Lovino shoving clothes into a pack with the help of Seraphino, Feliciano was helping Antonio shove some food into a separate bag, and Nonno Roma had disappeared for the moment. Throughout all of this, the members of the Vargas household, along with Antonio, were calling back and forth to each other, giving details and warnings and just making sure that the others were still there. Feliciano was crying silently, and Seraphino kept wiping at his eyes. Even Lovino seemed to be on the verge of tears, while Antonio seemed determined.

When Nonno Roma returned, he walked up to Antonio and pressed something into the Spaniard's hands. Feliciano felt his eyes widen. Even through his tears, he could tell that it was a gun.

"It's loaded already, and here's the rest of the ammunition for it," Nonno Roma said, shoving a small bag into Antonio's pack as Lovino came back to stand beside Antonio.

"Nonno, what—" Lovino started to say, but was cut off.

"Antonio, I trust you to keep my grandson safe, alright?" Nonno Roma's voice was firm. "Because I know that if it came down to you or him, you would pick him."

"Always." Antonio said, voice soft but his tone hard and determined.

Lovino looked at Antonio, mouth open slightly, his normally bitter green eyes softening for just a second. "Antonio…"

Seraphino came to stand beside Feliciano, and they linked their hands together, holding on tight. Feliciano's heart beat in an almost painful rhythm, and he could feel that Seraphino's hand was just as clammy as his.

"Feli, I'm afraid…" Seraphino whispered so only his brother could hear.

Feliciano squeezed his hand gently. "I am too, Sera. It's okay."

"Now, you boys need to go." Nonno Roma said, still speaking to Antonio and Lovino. "Head north, cross the border into Switzerland or Liechtenstein, and find somewhere quiet and safe to stay. Alright?"

"Yes, Nonno." Lovino said, then rushed forward and hugged his grandfather. "Thank you," he said, voice muffled, "Thank you for everything, Nonno."

"I am only doing my duty as your grandfather, Lovi." Nonno Roma said gently, smiling slightly.

Lovino hugged Seraphino next, and the youngest Vargas hugged back fiercely before releasing his brother. Then Lovino turned to Feliciano. He wrapped his arms around him, and Feliciano fought back more tears and he returned the embrace.

"I love you, fratello." Feliciano whispered softly into his brother's ear.

"Take care of yourself, Fels." Lovino said before grabbing Antonio's hand.

Without another word, the two vanished into the night.

Nonno Roma sat heavily at the table. "I hope those two can stay out of trouble long enough to get somewhere safe."

"Me too, Nonno." Feliciano said softly, sitting next to his grandfather, breathing slightly irregular.

"Feli, are you alright?" Seraphino asked, peering closely at Feliciano. "You look pale, and you're breathing funny."

"I'm alright, fratellino." Feliciano said as Nonno Roma looked over, concern creasing his brow.

"It's probably the stress." Nonno Roma said, taking Feliciano's wrist gently and pressing two fingers to the inside. After a moment, he nodded. "He's alright. Like I said, it's probably just the stress."

Feliciano pulled his wrist away from his grandfather gently. His heartbeat had slowed its fast rhythm from earlier, taking the hint of pain with it. He looked up at his Nonno and his little brother, noticing that they looked just as lost as he felt.

Lovino, Feliciano, and Seraphino had been together as long as any of them could remember, other then Lovino, who was old enough to remember when there had only been two of them. Ever since, they had never been separated, save for a special few occasions when Feliciano was sick from his heart and was in the hospital. So now, to have Lovino leaving, going away with the possibility of years passing before they would get to see him again, left Feliciano feeling rather lost. Sure, Lovino wasn't the nicest person in the world, he was rude, inconsiderate, with an incurable bad mouth, but he had always been there for his little brothers when they needed him most.

With a quiet sigh, Feliciano stood from the table. "I'm going to bed." He announced when Nonno Roma and Seraphino looked over at him.

He made his way into the room where the three brothers' beds were lined up in a row. Feliciano's by the window, Seraphino's against the far wall, and Lovino's in the middle of the room, still strewn with clothes from his sudden departure. Feliciano sighed quietly as he passed the bed, and climbed into his own, too tired to bother changing into pajamas.

.~*~.

A few weeks passed without any word from Lovino and Antonio. Nonno Roma said that that was to be expected, because they needed to be able to be positive that they were safe before they could write, but Feliciano worried nevertheless.

Not only that, but Feliciano only got to see Ludwig once in those few weeks, and Germany was taking over more and more of Europe. The sounds of distant explosions from bombs dropping became an every day occurrence in the tiny corner of Italy, no longer a cause for alarm.

Feliciano lay curled up on his bed, reading a book halfheartedly with his oxygen mask fitted over his face, when a sudden frantic tapping sounded at his window and made the Italian teenager jump. He looked up.

"Luddy!" Feliciano's happy cry died in his throat. The German's eyes were wide, their beautiful bluer then blue color darkened by fear. With his heart pounding in his chest, Feliciano raised himself up and pushed the window open, concern creasing his brow and an apprehensive feeling weighing heavy in the pit of his stomach. Nervously, the Italian pulled the cumbersome mask from his face. "Luddy, what is it?"

"Listen to me, Feliciano, you have but a moment!" Ludwig hissed, his voice quiet but teeming with desperation. "I don't know why, but some of our men are after your brother and Antonio. They won't tell us why, just that we're to bring them in if we find them. Some of my superiors know Lovino has a grandfather and two brothers. You have to get out of here, Feliciano! They're coming!"

For one heart stopping moment, Feliciano was sure that he was going to pass out. The world spun and his ears rang before he shook his head roughly to clear it. "Luddy, you have to go too! If they catch you here…" Feliciano couldn't finish the statement, but Ludwig understood. The tall blonde turned to leave, but Feliciano grabbed his arm, pulling him closer and until their lips met.

Their kiss was brief, but it was deep, fear coursing through both of them. What if something happened to one of them? This could be the last time that they kissed. All too soon it was over, and Ludwig was jogging away, back in the direction of the town.

"Nonno!" Feliciano yelled the word as soon as Ludwig was out of sight. Perhaps it was the blatant fear in his voice that made his grandfather run in so quickly, or maybe it was the fact that Feliciano had been unwell earlier in the day. Either way, Nonno Roma booked it into his grandson's room.

"Mio Dio, Feliciano, what's the matter?!" Nonno Roma cried when he burst in the room.

"Nonno, we're in danger! The Germans are coming for us!" Feliciano cried tearfully, leaving his bed and grabbing his grandfather's hand.

"Feli, that's insane!" Seraphino said, coming in the room from the kitchen. "Why would they—"

"Because they want Lovi…" Nonno Roma said slowly, horror dawning on his face as he gripped Feliciano's shoulders. "How do you know this, Feliciano?!"

"Because Luddy told me!" Feliciano cried, tears leaking down his cheeks.

"Ludwig?!" Nonno Roma looked shocked. "Feli, but how—"

"He's here, in Italy, Nonno!" Feliciano sobbed. "Nonno, I've been meeting him, and he came to warn me that they were coming!"

Nonno Roma's eyes grew cold. "You've betrayed my trust Feliciano." He said softly. "You—" Suddenly, Nonno Roma's eyes widened, and his voice cut off mid sentence. Feliciano and Seraphino both turned slowly, following their grandfather's horrified gaze out the window, where German soldiers could be recognized easily, marching toward their home.

"What do we do, Nonno?" Seraphino whimpered.

"We'll split up." Nonno Roma said, thinking quickly. "There is a little copse of trees about two hundred meters away from the house." Feliciano flinched; that was where he had met up with Ludwig the first time. "We'll meet up there once we're sure that no one is following us."

"Then what, Nonno?" Feliciano asked.

Nonno Roma turned his still cool amber eyes on Feliciano, and Feliciano cringed back slightly. "We'll go north, meet up with Antonio and Lovino. Feliciano, are you in love with Ludwig?"

Feliciano blinked at the unexpected question, gaze falling to the floor as he took a deep breath. Then his honey eyes met his grandfather's amber ones, and Feliciano felt a flash of defiance. "Yes." He said.

"I see…" Nonno Roma said. "Let's go, boys, we have to go now!"

Seraphino and Feliciano followed closely as Nonno Roma ran out the back door, and the three split up. Nonno Roma shot off straight ahead, Seraphino went left, and Feliciano veered off to the right. Behind him, Feliciano could hear their front door getting smashed open; the redhead quickened his pace.

For well over an hour, Feliciano alternated between full out running and speed walking when his heart demanded that he rest. He glanced periodically over his shoulder, terrified that any moment they could catch him.

His heart gave a painful twinge, and Feliciano stumbled over to a tree, leaning his back against it, chest heaving for air and his throat dry. His knees gave out, and he let himself slide down the rough bark of the tree to sit on the ground, telling himself that he would only rest for a moment. It had to be safe to go meet up with his family again.

After a few minutes, Feliciano struggled to his feet, his heart aching lightly and his damaged left lung protested every breath he took. Even so, Feliciano made his way forward, deciding to head to that copse of trees, hoping that Nonno Roma and Seraphino would be waiting there, safe.

"Bewegen Sie sich nicht!" Came a loud voice from behind Feliciano. The Italian froze, heart pounding as he turned slowly, hands level with his shoulders, to see a cruel looking German soldier with hard green eyes glaring at him from behind a rifle. "Sind Sie einer der Vargas Jungs?"

Beh, merda ...

_**Nee, thank you to everyone who has been reading this ^_^ You all make me so happy!**_

_**Bewegen Sie sich nict= Do not move!**_

_**Sind Sie einer der Vargas Jungs? = Are you one of the Vargas boys?**_

_**Beh, Merda… = Well, shit…**_

_**I used Google translate for these translations, so please let me know if they are wrong, and see you all next chapter!**_


	11. Chapter 11

Feliciano could scarcely breathe. He didn't know what was going to happen to him, but he knew without any doubt that it was not going to be good. His arms were bound behind him, and the German soldier, the green eyed man who had arrested him marching him along. The soldier was taking him to Germany; that much Feliciano was able to pick up from the conversation around him. But it was a surprise to see that they were taking him on the public train. Now he sat in the car, hands now bound in front of him, but no other restraints and no enforcement other then a tall German soldier who had a sympathetic look to him. It seemed that Feliciano was not deemed as a threat, and rightfully so. Feliciano knew exactly how pathetic he looked. Luckily, the soldier escorting him to Germany had the insight to realize that Feliciano needed his medicine and oxygen machine, so Feliciano was sitting on the seat in the train, watching the occasional person walk by his seat, oxygen mask on his face to help ease his breathing.

"Excuse me, sirs?" The voice came from a rather small girl with aqua eyes and blond hair with a purple ribbon tied into the blonde locks. She stood timidly in the entrance of the compartment. "May I sit in here? Everywhere else is full."

Feliciano looked to his guard, who nodded in consent, and Feliciano scooted over a little bit, making room for the girl. The guard even stood and helped her put her trunk up on the luggage rack.

"What is your name, ragazza?" Feliciano asked, his words slightly muffled by the oxygen mask on his face, and the girl glanced down at the cuffs on Feliciano's wrists.

"My name is Lili Zwingli." She said, smoothing out her dress and twisting her hands in her lap. "I'm going to live with my big brother in Switzerland. Are you in trouble?"

With a small laughing cough, Feliciano answered. "I'm Feliciano Vargas. I'm going to Germany from my home in Italy. And yes, I suppose I am in trouble, even though I haven't done anything bad." He said softly. He was glad that Lili was there to talk to him. Otherwise this trip, which would last a few days just to get to Germany, would have been unbearable.

"If you didn't do anything bad, then why are you in trouble?" Lili asked.

Feliciano hesitated. He couldn't tell her about his brother being in Switzerland in hiding, because his escort would surely hear it, and the last thing Feliciano wanted was for his brother to be put in danger. Nor could he tell any of the limited information that he knew about La Resistenza's plans that Lovino had told him.

"They think I know stuff." Feliciano said with a vague air, trying to hint at Lili not to question it further.

"Are you in danger?" Lili asked quietly. "Could you die?"

Feliciano hesitated. "Yes." He said finally, firmly. Luckily, the younger girl took the hint, and for awhile they sat in silence, watching the scenery out the window.

"What is your brother like?" Feliciano asked eventually, trying to break the silence.

Lili smiled. "He comes across as kind of mean and scary, but he has taken very good care of me after our parents died. I was in Italy staying with a friend for a few weeks while my brother was moving our stuff to the new house, so now I'm going back."

"He sounds like a great guy." Feliciano said, smiling in return.

"Oh, he is!" Lili said happily, smiling wider. Then her smile melted away, and she touched the breathing apparatus. "Are you sick?"

"Yes, I am." Feliciano said. "I got shot when I was really little, and it hurt my heart and my lung. It makes it really hard to breathe sometimes, so I have to wear this."

"You were _shot?!"_ Lili breathed, eyes wide. "Wow, I'm really sorry."

Feliciano shrugged. "It was a long time ago." He said, turning his gaze back out the window. Lili lapsed into silence as well.

.~*~.

The train ride, which had spanned several days, was coming to an end, and anxiety began to curl its cold fingers around Feliciano's heart once again. Lili had departed the day before when the train had reached her stop, and now, once again, it was Feliciano and the stoic faced German guard, who had not spoken a single word to the Italian hostage.

The guard led Feliciano off the train, loading him into a shiny car and driving him to… Actually, Feliciano was not sure where they were exactly. He was too busy trying not to look as panicked as he actually felt. He knew they were on some German base, and he when they walked him through the halls he could see other prisoners behind closed doors with a small window, before he was thrown into a similar small, shadowy room with orders to wait until interrogation.

"Yeah… Because I have somewhere else to go…" Feliciano muttered, though it felt like his heart was trying to beat its way out of his chest.

He paced the small room, weaving around the cot in the corner, and tried to control his breathing when he felt like he was on the edge of hyperventilating. Eventually he sat on the edge of the bed, hands fisted in the rather pathetic blanket on the cot.

Feliciano was not sure how much time he spent in the room, but after awhile he jumped in surprise as the door slammed open, revealing two strong looking men.

Within moments, Feliciano had been handcuffed and shoved out the door, taking him to a dark room with all sorts of grisly tools in it, and there were rusty stains on the ground that looked horribly like old dried blood. Feliciano was tied to a post in the center of the room, under a single bare light bulb, and could only watch in terrified silence as the infamous Gestapo entered the room.

.~*~.

"I swear I don't know anything! Ich schwöre, ich weiß es nicht!" Feliciano cried out as blood trickled into his eyes. He spoke the words in German as well just to get his point across.

"Where are the whereabouts of Lovino Vargas and Antonio Carriedo?!" the Gestapo officer bellowed at Feliciano, bringing the whip back down on Feliciano's bare back and making the Italian cry out.

Three days now Feliciano had been interrogated by the Gestapo. Three days of being beaten, whipped, even burnt and shocked and with six of his fingers crushed between steel bars used to tighten nails, and still Feliciano did not talk. Granted, if he had known anything, he probably would have been screaming it to the heavens by now, but all he could do was to insist in a steadily more broken tone that he didn;t know anything, not anything that the Gestapo wanted to hear. Feliciano was on his knees, his hands still bound to the post behind him, tears falling as the whip cracked across his skin again and again. All he could even think to do at this point was to pray for death, the only escape from the torture that his mind was able to think of under the stress and pain. Yet the days continued to pass in a haze of pain and periods of unconsciousness, and Feliciano was not given the mercy of death. He barely even noticed when two of his fingers were cut off.

On the day that Feliciano had been there exactly one week, the Gestapo decided to try something different to get Feliciano to talk. Feliciano was yanked to his feet, and his were untied only to have them retied over his head, so that Feliciano was all but hanging by a rope from one of the roof's horizontal supports. His toes barely touched the ground, all of his weight being held by the rope binding his wrists. His shoulders hurt terribly, like they were going to pop out of socket, and the position stretched out his body to a point where it was hard for him to draw air into his lungs, making him realize what was happening. He was being suffocated slowly.

The door to the interrogation room burst open suddenly, illuminating the room with a burst of sunlight. With the slamming of the door came another yelling voice, but this one was different. This yelling voice did not seem to be directed at him.

"What the hell are you fools doing?!" the voice was unfamiliar to the pain hazed Feliciano. "Haven't you noticed that this boy has heart trouble?! If you tie him up like this, it'll kill him!"

With a swift movement, the owner of the voice cut through the ropes holding Feliciano just as black dots began to swarm across the Italian's vision, and Feliciano crumpled. He would have hit the ground, but something stopped his fall. As he sucked in a deep breath that made his lung twinge, Feliciana peered through a mist of blood and tears to see his unlikely rescuer. It was the officer who had escorted him to Germany, the one that, to Feliciano, had had a kind light to his eyes. It seemed as though Feliciano had been right.

"Oh..." Feliciano murmured foggily, eyes squinting to see. "It's you..." And with that, Feliciano passed out.

.~*~.

When Feliciano came to hours later, his head was still foggy, and it took a moment for him to realize that he was back in his cell, not in the interrogation room. He lifted his hands and noticed the bandages, the spaces where his left index finger and middle finger had been cut off, the bruises from the ropes on his wrists. He could feel the whip marks and burns on his skin aching and stinging. Then, a voice made him jump.

"It is good to see that you are awake, Italian."

Feliciano turned his head to see the same soldier who had saved him in the interrogation room and had rode with him on the train sitting on a stool in the corner, a paperback book in his hands.

"Why did you save me...?" Feliciano asked, his words slurring together slightly. "Why can't I talk right...?"

"The Gestapo officers drugged you to try to get you to talk." The kind officer said. "And as for why I saved you, I'm friends with a certain Ludwig Beilschmidst who wants you back to him safe."

"You're going to take me to Luddy...?" Feliciano said in tired wonder.

"Ja, I am." The officer said. "My name is Lieutenant Furst, and I intend to get you out of here before the Gestapo can damage you anymore." Lieutenant Furst stood, and his voice turned cool. "I do not approve of what those men are doing. If they can even be called men."

"H-How long will they leave me alone…? Before they come back for me…?" Feliciano asked, stuttering a bit in his fear.

"I can not answer that question, Italian. I can only hope that I can get you out of here before they come back." Furst said ominously, closing his book. "I must go now, or it will place us both under suspicion. I will return with a plan once there is one."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Feliciano said softly, giving a small pained smile and turning to gaze back at the ceiling, wincing slightly.

"One more thing before I go, Italian." Furst said, drawing Feliciano's attention to him once again. "There is a tray with food here. Granted, it isn't very good food, but you've been starved for a week, so please eat if you can."

"Yes sir." Feliciano sat up painfully and gave a shaky salute, making the German Lieutenant smile and raise his hand in salute to Feliciano before leaving, locking the door behind him and leaving Feliciano alone.

Left on his own, Feliciano examined the wounds on his body before trying to eat the gruel served as food, which proved to be quite an adventure when he was newly missing two fingers. After that, with absolutely nothing left to do, Feliciano lay back on the cot and closed his eyes. He daydreamed being reunited with Nonno Roma and Seraphino, Lovino and Antonio, and Ludwig. Ludwig, who even now was still trying to care for Feliciano, trying to help him in the only way he could.

Feliciano did not realize when he fell asleep and his daydreams morphed into dreams until the door to the cell opened and a set of hands was shaking him awake as gently as possible. Feliciano opened his eyes, head a bit clearer, to see Lieutenant Furst.

"Are you awake now, Italian?" Furst said, barely waiting for a reply before continuing. "Good. The Gestapo are coming for you again. We have to run now!"


	12. Chapter 12

Enough time had passed for the shock to wear off his body, and without that buffer, he hurt bad. Two fingers had been cut off, all eight others had been crushed, his back and chest had been whipped mercilessly, and his shoulders and bad lung ached from being suspended from the ceiling for even that short amount of time. Feliciano lay, uncomprehending, as Furst stared down at him, kind eyes concerned.

"Come on, up you get." Furst said, reaching down and grabbing Feliciano under his arms, lifting Feliciano to his feet like one would a small child. The Lieutenant wrapped the blanket from the cot around Feliciano's shoulders. "We have to go now, Italian!"

"O-Okay…" Feliciano said, following Furst as he led the way out of the cell.

"We'll need to be swift." Lieutenant Furst said, pulling Feliciano through the prison halls by the wrist, staying away from the mutilated hands. "There was no time to get a concrete plan in order, so we have to just get away from here for now and set everything up from there."

"First, we have to get out of here." Feliciano said, and his heart dropped like a stone as the hall in front of them was suddenly blocked by three people. It was dark in the halls, but Feliciano's eyes had adjusted enough for him to see that one man wore a uniform like Lieutenant Furst and Ludwig's, one wore a different uniform that Feliciano could not place, and the third man wore a Gestapo uniform. Feliciano's breath caught, then he began to hyperventilate a bit, stumbling to a halt.

"Italian, it's okay!" Furst hissed urgently. "These men are on our side! They're going to help to get you away from here. Understand?"

"S-Sì." Feliciano said, looking at the Gestapo officer with a certain amount of fear in his honey eyes. The man stepped forward, seeing the fear in Feliciano's eyes.

"Do not fret, young Italian." The officer said. "I'm Officer Engel. I have not harmed you in any way since you've been here."

"Ve~" Feliciano said softly, turning his gaze on the ground. He heard Furst growing antsy beside him.

"We have to go! This isn't the time to be standing around and chitchatting idly!" Furst snapped, pulling Feliciano along again. "Engel, you have to go head off the Gestapo! They're heading for his cell right now!"

"Yes sir." Engel said, hurrying past Feliciano and disappearing into the gloom.

Furst started to lead Feliciano along again, but stopped and looked back as Feliciano's knees gave out, his breath coming in short gasps. The tallest of the men, the one with the uniform that Feliciano couldn't identify, lifted Feliciano up off the ground, carrying the redhead as they continued down the prison halls, bursting through the doors.

To be back in the fresh air that didn't smell like blood was heavenly for Feliciano, and he sucked as big of a breath he could manage into his lungs. He was starting to recover his breath to the point of being rather embarrassed at having to be carried like a child by a man that he didn't even know, but he did not trust his heart to remain steady should he insist to walk on his own.

The trio escorting Feliciano hurried across the clearing between buildings, their boots sounding unnaturally loud on the pavement and Feliciano's eyes darted around anxiously, expecting a threat to come from anywhere at any time.

Feliciano was set back on his feet as they stepped onto what appeared to be an airstrip, with one solitary Messerschmitt on the runway. Furst moved up to beside Feliciano and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"This is it, Italian." The Lieutenant said. "Lieutenant Austerlitz here is a fighter pilot. He's going to fly you somewhere where you will be safe." The tall man who had carried Feliciano gave him a friendly nod. "Officer Hoch will be my alibi for where I was when you went missing. Hoch is a much respected officer, so his alibi should suffice."

"Thank you… All of you…" Feliciano said softly, his eyes wide with gratitude. Despite seeming slow at times, Feliciano wasn't stupid; he knew exactly how much these men were putting on the line just to save him.

"We owe Ludwig a debt." Officer Hoch said in a surprisingly deep voice. "If this is what we must do to repay him, then we will do it." With that mysterious statement, Officer Hoch and Lieutenant Furst went running back towards the bunkers, knowing it was too dangerous to remain out in the open and away from their posts for too long.

"What did he—" Feliciano started to ask, but Austerlitz cut him off.

"Did you hear that?" the tall German looked uneasy. Then Feliciano heard it.

Footsteps.

Without wasting another second, Austerlitz was climbing nimbly into the plane, settling into the cockpit. "It's going to be a tight squeeze, but I'm afraid we don't have any other choice. Now hurry!" Austerlitz said, extending a hand to Feliciano.

Just as Feliciano reached up to take Austerlitz's hand, a voice from behind them made him freeze in his tracks.

"Now just what the hell is going on here?!"

Feliciano spun around, eyes wide and guilty, all the color draining from his face in a second as he turned to face what would probably be his death. Then he stopped, staring in surprise. The German in front of them had white hair and equally pale skin, and red eyes gleamed at them from above a cocky grin. "Hey there, Feli. What're you doing here?"

"Gilbert?!" Feliciano gasped, eyes still wide.

"Ja, ja, it's the awesome me!" Gilbert said, laughing. "Now tell me something, Feliciano. Has little Luddy kissed you yet?"

"Um…" Feliciano hesitated, looking rather startled. "S-Sì, he has…" the redhead blushed at giving the information, and he caught Austerlitz giving a knowing look.

"About goddamn time!" Gilbert laughed boisterously. "Alright, now you get on back to mein baby bruder and tell him that his awesome big brother is missing him!"

Feliciano gave an incredulous laugh and threw his arms around the albino soldier, giving him a quick squeeze. "Oh, thank you, thank you, _thank you!"_ Feliciano laughed, giving Gilbert his widest smile.

Gilbert grinned and patted Feliciano's back. "By the way, Fels, thank you for _finally _pulling the stick out of my brother's ass. Now get going."

Feliciano laughed, and Gilbert helped Feliciano scramble into the plane. It was indeed a tight squeeze, but the redhead wriggled around to make himself semi comfortable. Gilbert waved to them as Austerlitz started the plane and took off down the runway. The plane took off into the air, and Gilbert became an increasingly smaller white speck as they gained altitude.

It was the very first time Feliciano had been in a plane and, although the experience was exhilarating, Feliciano could not deny that he was scared for his life, up in the sky in a seemingly rickety plane. His heart beat amazingly fast in his chest, and his hands were fists in the prison style uniform the Gestapo had put him in. He tried to regulate his breathing, closing his eyes and breathing in through the nose, out through the mouth. He tried to focus on something else, focusing instead on Ludwig. Ludwig would be there when the plane landed again, and the beautiful, handsome German boy would be waiting for him. Ludwig would be waiting, and Feliciano would be in his arms again and it didn't matter what ended up happening next because he would be with Ludwig and everything would be perfect again. Despite the fear at his dire situation, Feliciano felt a wide smile break across his face, a feeling of lightness in his chest. He would be with Ludwig again, and everything was going to be okay.

Feliciano stayed in his little bubble of euphoria until the wheels on the bottom of the plane bumped along the ground, startling him and pitching him back into painful reality. Feliciano looked out of the plane as best he could, and standing under a light lining the runway stood Ludwig, looking like the beacon of hope to poor Feliciano. As soon as the plane came to a stop and the top was lifted, Ludwig was running forward, and Feliciano was scrambling out of the plane, his knees almost buckling as his feet hit the ground. The redhead ran into those welcoming arms, holding tight and Ludwig hugging him to the point where he couldn't breathe but he didn't care, he didn't care because it was Ludwig and they were finally together again.

"Luddy, oh Luddy!" Feliciano sobbed unrestrained into the German's shoulder.

"My Feliciano…" Ludwig breathed, his voice sounding choked and very un-Ludwig. "Are you okay, Feli? How badly did they hurt you?!" Ludwig pulled away and held Feliciano by the upper arms, his bright blue eyes alight with concern as they swept over Feliciano's body.

"I'm okay, it's all okay now, Luddy." Feliciano said, his eyes still flowing with tears and obscuring his vision, blurring Ludwig's face.

Ludwig gave a sigh, and Feliciano reached out, instinctively going to thread his fingers through Ludwig's, but sharp pain made him draw his hand back with a whimper. Ludwig caught his wrists and pulled the hands into his sight.

Those wonderful, bluer than blue eyes widened in shock and horror as he examined the bruised and broken fingers and the blood stained bandages wrapped around his left hand where his middle finger and his ring finger had been cut off. "Oh… Mein Gott, Feliciano, what have they done to you…?"

"It doesn't matter now, Luddy… It doesn't matter." Feliciano stretched up onto his tiptoes, hands still caught in Ludwig's, and pressed his lips firmly to Ludwig's tears continuing to fall because, all of a sudden, the world felt right again.

They were together.

They were together.

They were together, and neither of them were worried about what would happen to them next.

Not now.

Now that they were together.


End file.
